


White Noise

by BangAYang (RWBYRemnants), NaughtyButWeiss (RWBYRemnants), RWBYRemnants



Series: White Noise - Popstarverse [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bodyguard, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Popstar, Attempted Kidnapping, Bisexual Character, Bisexual Female Character, Bisexuality, Bodyguard, Bodyguard Romance, Depression, F/F, Fangirls, Lesbian Character, Modern Era, Novella, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Slow Romance, Suicide Attempt, Trans Character, Trans Female Character, Useless Lesbians
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2019-02-07
Packaged: 2019-02-22 17:44:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 33
Words: 252,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13172010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RWBYRemnants/pseuds/BangAYang, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RWBYRemnants/pseuds/NaughtyButWeiss, https://archiveofourown.org/users/RWBYRemnants/pseuds/RWBYRemnants
Summary: International singing sensation Weiss Schnee has it all: fame, fortune, and a flawless appearance. That’s the problem; not all of her adoring fans have a healthy level of obsession with their idol. Her father and sister decide she needs a bodyguard: a woman who definitely won’t take advantage of Weiss. But the moment she sees Yang Xiao Long, she has doubts. Will this blonde with such incredible hair really be able to protect her?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> by: BangAYang and NaughtyButWeiss  
> universe: modern day USA, pop star/bodyguard
> 
> GENERAL WARNINGS: Eventual trigger warnings for depression and a suicide attempt. Lots of smut spread out between plot points, including with characters outside the main ship (Freezerburn). Also... it's going to be REALLY long.
> 
> Special thanks to CoNzz for the beta-reading assistance!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I understand this is FAR from the canon version of Jacques Schnee. This fic was written before Volume 4 came out and we knew nothing about him other than seeing what he looked like.
> 
> Anyway, welcome to a new Freezerburn fic from me and BangAYang! This is probably the universe we worked on the longest out of all of them - since firstly, it's a fic that's close to as long as "[She Wants The Dust](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6035251/chapters/13839601)", and also because there may or may not be a spinoff! (You won't see that until this fic is finished though, which will take... quite some time haha.) Anyway we hope you like it, and are ready for some slow burn lovin'!

**=Chapter 1**

_"FATHER, YOU HAVE SOME EXPLAINING TO DO!"_

The words echoed out at the exact same time as the doors to the spacious penthouse office slammed open, two men barely able to fling themselves to either side to avoid being bruised. The silver-haired girl decked out in more jewellery than her musculature should have been capable of supporting paid them no mind; she only had eyes for the desk at the far end of the room.

"Ah, Weiss. Making an entrance again, I see…" The man she was heading toward was her employer as well as her father, and as such, was in charge of many important decisions in Weiss's career. One of which was about to be argued against it would seem.

But he was not alone. Just across the desk from him was a tall, well-built blonde girl in a nondescript black suit, who had stepped to one side as soon as Weiss entered the building. It seemed as though whatever they were discussing would have to wait.

“This bodyguard thing is unacceptable!” she burst out, rushing right past the blonde and slamming her open palm down onto his glass-topped desk. Not quite hard enough to crack, but it certainly posed a danger of doing so. “You haven’t consulted me during the selection process - didn’t consult me at _all_ in the decision to have one! Do you really expect me to just roll over and let whoever you’ve summoned from the sewers into my LIFE?!”

"If that means it stops perverts getting close to you, then yes. May I remind you of the events of last week?"

It was quite the scare for everyone involved. Someone, be they a jealous rival or an overbearing fan, had sent a specific set of photos to Weiss's fanmails. Photos taken from within her trailer, in the private space no one should have gained access to. Since then, he had insisted upon the next line of safety: a bodyguard. Not merely a usual member of the security team who stood outside the door, but one who would be with her every moment of the day. Whose sole focus it was to double- and triple-check the safety of everywhere Weiss went.

Holding his hands in one another, he frowned. "Besides, it looks good for you. Think about it; having your own bodyguard, or ‘squad’ as the kids say, looks professional."

Gritting her teeth, she leaned in and knocked over a meaningless paperweight. It was an oval of amethyst perched atop a white marble base; there was no sentimental or real monetary value. She’d always hated it.

“What girl wants some suit-wearing old man with bulging neck muscles skulking around in their trailer?! He’d probably be just as bad as the pervert with the camera!”

"Which is why I haven't hired a man. If you'd have read the bio in the letter properly, you'd already know that your new body guard is a _woman_. Are you going to keep throwing my things all day, or are you going to let me introduce you?"

That made both of Weiss’s eyebrows shoot up. Could she have heard him correctly? “A woman?! That’s even WORSE! What good can a woman do against an attacker that I couldn’t do myself?! If you haven’t noticed lately, Father, I _am_ a woman!”

"I'm well aware. But trust me, this one can handle herself." For a moment, he looked toward the lithe, muscled blonde girl who was first speaking to him when they were interrupted. Weiss clearly hadn't put two and two together with the outfit, and after they nodded to one another, his gaze returned to his daughter again. He held a hand out to gesture for her to take a second look.

"This is Yang Xiao Long, your bodyguard."

"Yo." Yang finally allowed a small smile to form, as she held a hand up to slightly wave.

"Ohhhhhh," Weiss breathed out slowly, nodding to herself. Her expression hadn't really lost any of its previous ire, but her voice was doing a good mockery of a person who was completely mollified. "So because she's Asian, and probably knows some kind of kung fu, I'm supposed to believe that she'll be able to keep me safe over your other guards?"

"Um... I'm right here," Yang reminded her, placing a hand on her hip as she slightly glared at her. Even if she'd just started, casual comments like that weren't on her list of things to put up with.

Nor was Mr Schnee willing to put up with the conversation much longer. "I'm impressed enough at her résumé. And to be frank, you only need to look at her. I think she could be just as intimidating as any of my men."

"Oh? Could she really?" Weiss turned and stepped right up to Yang's personal space, looking up into her face. It was a lovely one, with deep violet eyes and a smile that could turn playful at any moment - and though she could tell Yang had some muscle to her, she wasn't exactly a hulking bodybuilder. Plus, no bodybuilder would spend that much time making their blond hair so luxurious. "You don't intimidate me in the slightest, Xiao Long."

That strength was far easier displayed than it was explained. And as soon as she quickly looked over to her new boss, who simply shrugged about the matter, she quickly bent down and placed her hands on her hips, pulling her straight up into the air and onto her shoulder. All without a single grunt or hesitation, in one fluid movement.

“What the- HEY!” This was actually said around the time she was already being deposited on Yang’s shoulder, so complete was her shock. Flailing her legs in the air, she had to focus one hand on slapping down on her skirt to keep from flashing all the men in the room, and the other one was punching into Yang’s back. “Y-you put me down this _instant!”_

The constant flailing was doing nothing to put Yang off. In fact, she simply turned to ask, "Is she always like this?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so."

And with that, she lifted her back up again, placing her back down just as easily as before, with a light smirk to add, "So, you were saying about me defending you against an attacker?"

The spoiled girl was positively vibrating as she stared up at her new bodyguard's haughty expression of triumph. _Former_ bodyguard, anyway. "Father, I absolutely _refuse_ to spend another moment in this boorish woman's company! Not after that! So you can take your offer of a bodyguard and kindly shove it up your-"

"You've got the job." He didn't even let his daughter voice her concerns. Even if it was supposed to be Weiss's decision. Instead, he had just turned to face Yang, holding out a hand for her to shake in agreement. "Standard hours, but when you're on tour, you're expected to room with her in the bus. Be sure to bring your own bedding; I’ve heard the sofa-sleeper is comfortable, but does not come with sheets…"

"T-thank you, sir." She could barely believe the exchange herself as she shook her new employer's hand. Were they really going to get along okay after Weiss objected so much?

And she wasn’t through, it seemed. “You expect me… to just let this complete stranger into my life?! Without me having met her more than five minutes ago?! We don’t know anything about her! Has Winter even met with her yet? You know what a stickler she is for everything going through the proper channels!”

Clearly taking none of this, her father could only smirk as he held up the résumé of the girl in question, reading aloud some of the factors for her. "Let's see, graduated from Beacon Academy three years ago, worked as a bouncer for Junior’s Nightclub for two years. Took media studies in school and passed with flying colours."

"Or you could just, y'know, ask. But seeing as your tour's in a month, I think that'll be plenty of time for us to get to know one another." Seemed Yang was gaining more confidence now that she knew her father was on her side, shown by a rather smug smirk.

By now, Weiss had run out of things to say. The blonde bouncer really did seem to have enough experience to justify her coming aboard for Team Schnee. However, the man himself was still going to pay at some point for going completely over her head and cutting her out of this entire process.

“Fine,” she growled. “Then I expect for you to renegotiate that North American tour with Neptune Vasilias, as we previously mentioned. We both know you sabotaged that deal on purpose because you don’t like him!”

"Please. It's not my fault that insipid rich boy's agents couldn't see talent when it was clearly right in front of them. But I suppose, that's a fair exchange… I’ll work on it if…"

When the room was quiet for a few agonising seconds, Yang supplied, "If I come with?"

"Yes, exactly!" This truly was working in Mr Schnee's favour after all. Not only had he hired a bodyguard who was more than capable - and apparently not stupid - but it meant he could also keep an eye out for Weiss when he couldn't in person. Even when she was touring. Whether or not the good terms remained throughout was yet to be seen…

“This isn’t over,” Weiss hissed angrily, turning to leave. When Yang started keeping pace, she stopped to snap, “Don’t follow me!”

“No can do, Princess. This is my job now. You heard the man.”

“UGH!” Pointing at him, she snapped, “You just wait! I’ll figure out a way around this! Just _wait!”_

 

* * *

 

The instant the two got back to Weiss’s room, she turned and stomped forward until she was right in Yang’s face once more. All the way there, she had been huffing and puffing, snapping at guards or at personal assistants, texting angrily on her phone. But not one word had been said between them. Now that was about to change.

“Are you going to throw me over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes again, or can I get some _tiny_ shred of respect?”

The new hire was stunned. As it turned out, Weiss Schnee was grumpy, snappy, and overall not the kind of person to be around if you wanted a good outlook on life. And while up until that point she was looking forward to working with the great Weiss, a music artist she had started to appreciate over the past couple of years, now she was unsure. Especially after such a tantrum!

"Respect is a two-way street,” Yang said hesitantly. “And so far, all you've done is assume I know kung fu because of my race."

"Hey, you hire an Asian bodyguard, I think it goes without saying." Then she paced around her, inspecting every inch of her. The tidy suit that echoed those of her father's guards was obviously cut for her frame, flattering it slightly without being showy or making her look like a girl in menswear. To Weiss, it was readily apparent that she was beyond uncomfortable in such garb.

“We _have_ to get you out of those clothes.”

Yang blinked, thrown off by the sudden change in topics. In fact, a very unexpected change, if she had heard her right. _"Excuse_ me?!"

"You're not going to wear that while working for me," she scoffed. “Seriously, a girl in a suit?”

That made her breathe a sigh of relief. Still, how dare this brat make such judgments? Even if it wasn't what she would usually wear, and certainly not on her list of fashion choices, she wasn't just going to stand by and let her client bash her uniform! Still, at least she could twist this to her advantage, putting on a sarcastic voice.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I left my _kimono_ at home; this was all I could throw together."

Totally missing the sarcasm of that clothing choice, Weiss sighed, "Not that I know how a kimono hangs on you, and I don't want to know." She paced back and forth for a few seconds, high heels clicking against the stone floors. "Tomorrow, you will wear something you would usually wear. Either as a bouncer, or on an average day when you're ready for clubbing – or whatever it is you do. You in that suit, you're so… _stiff,_ starchy. It's not even a blank slate to work from!"

Now that Weiss's father was out the way, there was a very slight shift in her attitude. Even if the suit was just as Weiss described, stiff and frigid, she could at least make a decent comeback a lot quicker. "Whoa, I didn't expect you to swing that way. Y'know, wanting to see me in skimpy club gear…"

"Swing what way? Skimpy?" Then her eyes shot wide. "Oh my god, you're a lesbian. You're a freaking _lesbian,_ aren't you?! This is just so typical - my father hires a woman bodyguard so she won't try to sell ‘exclusive Weiss upskirt pics’ to the highest bidder, and doesn't even bother to check if she'll be as bad as the men!"

"Yeah, sure, let's go with that then. I'm a big stupid lesbian who just wants to get you naked, you got me." But when Weiss didn't appear amused by the joke, or to catch her deadpan tone of voice, she groaned loudly in annoyance. "Don't flatter yourself; do you really think I'd risk a job like this on doing something so sleazy?"

Though the petite diva seemed to mull that over for a few seconds, in the end, she rolled her eyes and spat, "FINE. Just wear your usual clothing tomorrow; I'm not having a clunky suit lurking around in my dressing room all the time, and _that_ is final. Maybe I can't convince my father I don't need a bodyguard, but I'll be damned if you're not under my orders now."

"A fashionable bodyguard, how scary," Yang commented, holding her hands in the air in a facetious display of fear to annoy her even further. For a first day, this was certainly not what she expected. She at least figured Weiss would be as upbeat as some of her songs, but perhaps not.

“You aren’t scary anyway,” she scoffed. However, then she took a quick step backward. “And _don’t_ pick me up again, just to prove you can. That was weird!”

"I bet Neptune couldn't do that," she teased, waiting patiently outside Weiss's room while she gathered her things. She didn't dare enter until invited in. She really was as stiff as Weiss described, even if her sarcasm said otherwise.

“What?! How dare you say- Neptune and I aren’t even friends! Why should he pick me up, when he has people who could pick me up for him?! And why do I have to be picked up at all?!” Finally, after she had changed out a shirt for another shirt and put on a jacket, she turned back to see Yang loitering outside. “What are you doing?”

"Um, _not_ invading your privacy until you say I can?" It was a subtle hint for Weiss to invite her inside, as well as demonstrating how she worked. Most others would have simply paid no heed and barged in regardless of if they were allowed or not.

“Hey, you don’t have to ask MY permission,” she flung at the bodyguard as she paced closer. “My father’s already given it to you, and apparently, my wishes are irrelevant! Right?”

"Hey, all I did was go to a job interview. I didn't subscribe to your family drama on the daily, alright?" They were getting nowhere. Barely even into the day and the majority of words spoken to one another were shouted rather than civil. Part of her wanted to throw the towel in there and then. "Look, I didn't know the job was without your consent, you didn't know you were getting a guard. So can you at least try and tolerate me and know I'm just doing my job?"

The words caught Weiss off guard, and it showed. She took a step back and blinked at Yang, not having expected the bodyguard to have a brain.

“Well... that’s just...” Sighing, she ran a hand through her bangs. “Okay, fine. You may - _may_ have a point. We might as well try and make the best of this ludicrous situation we’ve been smashed into together.”

"God, what a crushing blow. It's as though you only had _four_ limos instead of _five_. So sad…"

But Yang finally took up the offer and paced into the room. She was actually in the living space of Weiss! Fans would die to be in that positions, one of those even including her own sister, Ruby. Yet… it wasn't what she was expecting at all. The space was completely bland of colour, or even belongings in general. Even if Weiss was away for long periods of time, and if this wasn't even her main home, she expected a few personal quirks to at least talk about. But there were none whatsoever. Not even so much as a fluffy toy on the bed.

"Very… um… _white_."

"Don't you hate it?" she sighed, flopping on the white leather couch and crossing her legs immediately. The sparkling silver heels caught the light and made tiny patterns bounce off the walls. "So... pristine. Sterile, like a hospital. But I have an image to maintain." After a few more seconds, she gestured to a mostly uncomfortable-looking chair. "Have a seat. We should probably go over my schedule, protocols, other boring details."

All that space on the sofa, and Weiss pointed out the blander looking chair for her to sit. Typical. But just as asked, she sat immediately down, shuffling the chair to face her more so she could provide her full attention.

"Alright. First thing is, when do I get my badass shades?"

The question took her by surprise. “Your... what, I’m sorry?”

"Shades? Y'know, sunglasses?" But Weiss still didn't seem to understand the humour, making Yang just clear her throat and hunch her shoulders nervously. "Aaalright, back to serious, got it..."

“Oh. Well, bring in your favourite pair tomorrow; if they are inadequate, we’ll replace them along with the rest of your clothing.” As if that settled the matter, she straightened slightly. “My tours are often hectic; I have a large bus that takes us from city to city, and sometimes autograph sessions stretch on longer than planned and we’re forced to hurry to our next destination. Though I still don’t see the need for a bodyguard… you will be expected to keep our speed up, because I can’t let your desire to ‘play it safe’ interfere with my schedule.”

"Hey, since when did I say I like to take it safe and slow? I can go fast. I’ve got a rice rocket, which could even serve as a backup escort if needs be." Just what she needed: a big blonde brute who rode around on a two-wheeled death trap as her guard. That should put a little shock into the prissy girl.

However, Weiss’s reaction surprised the brute. Leaning forward an inch or two, she asked in a rush, “You have a motorcycle? What kind?”

Finally, something that could possibly talk about besides business. "It's a custom body, but it's built mainly from a Yamaha VFR Eight hundred. Managed to get it to two hundred at top speed."

“Two _hundred?!_ That’s so-” And then she seemed to come back to herself, as if waking from a fever-dream. Sitting back slightly and attempting to regain her former detached aire, she said, “Yes, I approve. Yamaha makes great bikes. You’ll have to show me sometime.”

"Oh, will I now?" She raised an eyebrow, giving a small wink when Weiss's gaze met hers. But before she could dwell on the thought of her being a 'big stupid lesbian' again, she cleared her throat. "Yeah, fast is fine; schedule to keep. Anything else I should know? Your dad was worried about someone getting into the bus at one point?"

A shadow of worry passed over Weiss’s features. “That was… a one-time fluke. Security in general was lackluster in that particular venue, and I refuse to perform there again unless they can somehow prove to me that they have rectified that enormous oversight.”

"Still not so good it happened, but I'm guessing you want me to stand out guard if there's any particularly sketchy areas? Make sure no one gets in or can sneak a camera backstage?"

“That is in your job description, is it not?” Then she glanced toward the door, and back to Yang. “Hey… can you do something for me? As a sort of trial.”

"If you ask me to get you a lattè, I quit." Yet again no laughter from her joke, even if she thought it was funny. So she simply leaned forward to listen."Go on?"

Leaning in as well, she lowered her voice conspiratorially. “One of my father’s guards, the one with the knuckle tattoos and the insipid expression… I’ve caught him looking a few times.” When Yang didn’t reply, she added, “At me. In ways that are unprofessional.”

"You mean the biggest dude? Really?" The expression was more surprise than what Weiss would have expected. Anyone else would have looked at the largest guard and fled a mile, or even said they should take it up with her father.But not Yang; she looked disgusted and angry on her behalf. "And you want me to tell him to mind his own business if he does again?"

“No. I want you to _show_ him.” She let it hang there; she was curious just how Yang would handle this without giving her any further instruction.

"Show him, huh?"Her first assignment was apparently to teach a perverted guard some manners. For some reason, that made her smirk a little more. "I can do that."

Returning the smirk, Weiss nipped her phone out of her Versace handbag and thumbed the screen a few times as she stood. “Yes, Father, it’s me again so soon. We are about to conduct an… unscheduled training session for the new hired help. Please be advised that there will be a disturbance.”

"Right now?!" That caught Yang by surprise. She was looking forward to it, sure; but didn't expect to be thrown in the deep end on her very first day! Still, she was in no position to argue, not when it seemed like Weiss was relying on her. Getting up from her chair, she looked back over to her client. "Lead the way."

And Weiss did. She walked down the hall until she reached a blind corner, where a couple of large, leafy plants made it hard to see around it. Once there, she took up a position within said plants and peered down toward her father’s door.

“Yes, he’s definitely on duty,” the pampered girl grunted. “Alright. Let’s see what you got.”

"You really want me to do this right now?"But the glare gave enough or an answer. Reluctantly sighing, she got up from their hiding place, making her way out from behind the leaves and walking straight toward the door to the main office, and to the doorman in question.

How should she start this? She was still new, she couldn't just punch him out of the blue. She at least needed to warn him.

"Hey, you with the tats. Can I talk to you for a second?"

The man glanced at her, then looked away. It seemed he couldn’t help but listen, but had no real inclination to give her any recognition.Peering down at the small name tag fastened to his jacket, she was beginning to doubt her plan already. And that was slightly obvious by the way she ran her hand through her hair, making a long wincing sound for a moment.

"Listen, Mr Coal, Ms Schnee seems to think you got a bad case of The Wandering Eyes… maybe even taking some pictures. Just wanted to ask if you could, you know, back off."

Coal finally snapped around to look at her, sneering. “Excuse me? You got any proof to back up that crazy theory of yours, blondie?”

"I got her word. And it's my job to take her word, so that's what I'll do. Take it as a friendly warning! Next one won’t be so friendly."

It was now a stare off between the smaller, yet just as intimidating blonde girl and the larger figure of the bodyguard, neither of which were about to step up to take things further than talking it seemed. “Then you ain’t got shit. Now get out of here, grown folks are trying to work.” Then he glanced down along her frame, allowing his gaze to linger on key aspects. “Unless you got another reason to stick around...?”

Oh, how that made her blood boil. This was the guy alright, it had to be. Especially if he was making comments like that to her alone. With a bitter sweet smile, she just began to turn. "No no, that will be all, thanks."

However, as she began to move away, he uttered the words “Your loss” and lightly patted her behind. It wasn’t a hard swat, and neither was there gripping.The instant she felt it was touched, she flinched, eyes snapping wide open. That was impossible for her to ignore, whether or not it was light or heavy, accidental or on purpose. Hands forming into tight fists, she let a chuckle out to herself.

"Ohhhh, you _really_ shouldn't have done that," she growled – before turning as fast as she could, allowing said fist to contact with his face at full force. The man reeled, not having expected such a violent reaction. Verbal barbs or a death glare, yes, but not a mean right cross to his face! Staggering back, he clutched his nose tenderly as blood just began to run down from inside.

"What… do you have a deathwish, you bitch?!"

"Oh, I'm so sorry, you didn't know? That's how I return an unwanted advance."Her hand was still curled into a fist, but her other pointed right at him. "That can be your new warning; don't touch me again, don't be a peeping Tom at Weiss again. Or next time, I’ll _Yang_ you up worse than that little lovetap."

Rage pulsed in the man's temples. By now, the guard on the opposite side of the door had one hand inside his jacket, waiting for the worst to happen, but he'd been paying enough attention that he knew the reason behind the attack.

"You... you are gonna PAY for that!" Coal said as he took a step toward Yang.

But before he could make any further moves, the door to Mr Schnee's office door swung open, and he looked right toward them both in concern. It was very easy for him to have heard the entire encounter, considering they were standing just on the other side of the door.

"What on _earth_ is going on here?!"

"Sorry, sir, I'm just doing my job," said a confident Yang, who right away turned to face him. Although she was terrified of the consequences, she knew telling him would be the better option, so she pointed straight to Mr Coal. "Apparently, your boy here's been taking long looks at my client. Probably even taking sneaky pics with a shoe-cam. She asked me to have a word and… well, I don't take to being spanked by strangers very well."

"HEY, I never did anything like that!" the guard burst out immediately, though his voice sounded quite ridiculous with a broken nose. "Yeah, maybe I got an eyeful when she walked away, but- but that's not a crime, and it was only once or twice! I haven’t been taking any pictures, I swear to god!"

"You there." Mr Schnee instead gestured to the opposite guard, deciding to ignore both Yang and Coal until he could get a completely unbiased answer. "Did you see it? Is this true?"

"Completely, sir. I was ready to intervene if it got serious, but in all honesty, I'm surprised she didn't punch him again."

"Is that so?" His gaze turned back to Coal again. This time it was full of anger toward him, an expression he may not have seen before, apart from when Mr Schnee gave the few warnings he had received in the past. "I suggest you clean yourself up, and accept your admission of guilt as your resignation. Even without any ‘worse’ conduct than groping Weiss’s bodyguard today, you've had warnings before. This seems too coincidental to be 'one of those things'. Not where my _daughter_ is concerned."

Growling and swearing under his breath, he swung his gaze around toward Yang again - but did a double-take when he saw Weiss had silently walked up behind the bodyguard. She was now standing with hands on hips, piercing him with her icy gaze.

"This ain't over," he snapped. "She still physically assaulted me! Doesn't matter what I did in the first place, it didn't mean she had to bloody my damn nose!"

"Oh, so I'm supposed to just lay down and take sexual harassment, right?" Yang was just as smug in her responses, even showing it as she smirked to him when he gave yet another glare. “No thanks.”

Having heard enough, Mr Schnee clicked his fingers, gesturing for the other guard. "Escort him off premises, please; I don't want him here a second longer."

"Yes, sir," the other guard said, snagging Coal's elbow and dragging him down the hallway. He protested by way of a few shouts and thrashings, but by and large, it was an easy task. There wasn't much he could do if he broke free.

"Alright," Weiss sighed uneasily. "Glad we have that settled."

"Was that latter part true?" Mr Schnee asked before Yang could get a single word in on the matter, looking straight down toward his daughter. "About him spying on you?"

"That… may have been a slight elaboration," she admitted, though the expression that went along with her words made it seem as if she wasn't telling the truth. Based on that, she followed up with, "But honestly, he spent so much time staring at my ass while I was walking around, making growling noises to insinuate I was his next _chew toy_ , it was only a matter of time before he pounced!"

There was a loud sigh from the Schnee CEO. She had just made her new bodyguard act clearly on assumptions. And although he did earn a firm punch to the face for being a creep, there was little reason for the event to start in the first place. He knew his daughter too well, and knew what she was attempting to do. Testing Yang’s loyalty.

So instead he played with the matter more, turning around to Yang, even letting a confident smirk slip."You're better than I thought. I figured you'd need to adjust to the differences between bouncer work and body-guarding, but in a day you've done just as any professional would. Well done."

Weiss blinked in mild surprise at the praise. Normally, if an employee took initiative like that, Mr. Schnee was best known for coming down hard on them for bothering to think. "But… but she cold-cocked him!"

"No ‘buts’; Yang's more than proven she's worthy of the role." And with that final word, he turned to head back into his office, leaving behind a gobsmacked Weiss, and a confidently smirking Yang in his wake.

Who just raised her eyebrows when she looked back at Weiss. "So. My own couch on the tour bus, huh?"

"You..." Blinking, the diva slowly seemed to come back to herself. "That was unnecessarily violent. It did get the job done, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't satisfying to watch… but in the future, you need to learn how to solve your problems without random bloodshed. You could have put him in a headlock or something."

"Hey, he slapped my ass, so I just punched his back. Oh wait, that was his face; sorry. It’s so hard to tell them apart." Weiss was unamused. So when the smug expression went back to the business again, she cleared her throat. "Sorry. I'll be sure to do that in the future."

"Good. Because the headline 'Weiss's Bodyguard Bloodies Paparazzi' might be decent publicity for my tour, but then I would have to fire you so I don't look like I tolerate that kind of behaviour on my staff… and then Father would force me to replace you, and I'd probably end up with another muscle-necked lout who will check out my boobs constantly."

"On you still have that; I'm a big, stupid lesbian, remember?"

She really wasn't going to let Weiss live those few judgements down. And if this was how she acted now in their first meeting, how much worse would it be on tour? For a long moment, Weiss glared up at this person she couldn't seem to pry loose from her life, who didn't bow down and take orders like any other employee. Against her will, she was beginning to feel the first twinklings of respect.

"Listen," she hissed up at her. "I'm still not quite sure how I feel about you, but it looks like we're stuck together. So do me a favour - stay out of my way, and I'll stay out of yours."

And with that, she began stomping off to her room, not caring whether or not Yang would follow. Though she did, it was at a leisurely pace, already lamenting that she had ever taken this job and dreading the months to come. How could any single, hundred-pound slip of a girl be so much of a headache?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year!
> 
> And that's about it so far. Thanks for all the reviews, and the beta applications! We have a team of betas working on this stuff now, so hopefully (HOPEFULLY) that means it's going to start coming out much faster. Enjoyyyyy!

**=Chapter 2**

The bus was on its steady journey to the first tour location: LA. It was a two-hour ride, with nothing really to do other than look out at the various scenery – an activity that quickly grew tiresome. In truth, Yang was trying anything she possibly could to stay out of the diva's way. She did request that, after all. But when her only entertainment she had left, her phone, was at ten percent battery, she had no choice but to try and engage in conversation.

"So what's special about LA? You seemed really eager about this first stop."

“Excuse me?” But then the fact that the question was mostly innocent seemed to catch up to Weiss, and she shrugged, looking back down at her laptop screen. The only mobile outlet in the back that wasn’t in the bathroom was already taken up by her MacBook charger. “Oh. Well… it’s the first big show of this tour; isn’t that reason enough?”

It seemed far more than that, considering Weiss's face lit up when they first mentioned LA, but not when they mentioned any other locations. Not even the later dates, when they were headed north to perform with Neptune, seemed to be as exciting to her.

"You sure there isn’t someone you wanna meet there or something?"

“Wh-why should that matter?” she asked guardedly, folding her arms across her chest. “Even if there is, it’s still Los Angeles, the biggest city on the west coast! I can’t believe you’re interrogating me this way!”

"I'm not even- ugh, you know what? Forget I said anything." Sitting down on the nearest available seat, she took a quick glance at her phone again, mainly for something to do. They really weren't getting along after all. At least they were talking; maybe she could adapt the conversation a little. "Well, I'm looking forward to getting to Berkley. My sis at a university there; we could grab some coffee or whatever."

“We weren't stopping at Berkeley.” But her voice was devoid of her usual vinegar, and she looked contemplative. “At least, it’s not a tour stop… but we did just leave Sacramento. Do you see your sister much?”

"Not in the flesh, but we talk all the time. Sometimes even Skype if we can make the time. Last time we video chatted, she was introducing me to her dorky new roommate, Penny, but… that was a while ago." Such memories were already making her smile, and even compelled her to put her phone away entirely.

Fidgeting for a second, Weiss turned her attention back to the laptop screen. For about a minute, it seemed as if she had simply lost interest in their conversation as she messed around on her laptop, but then she suddenly stood up and said, “I need to speak to the driver for a moment,” before sweeping from the plushly-decorated “sitting room” of the bus.

"I-I... Okay." In that instant, she thought she had found a stepping stone to talk to Weiss, then had lost it again. Maybe this was going to be a solitary job, after all. With that thought in mind, she took her phone back out again, sighing as she idly browsed and resigned herself to waiting for it to die.

Or so she expected. Weiss sighed as if she had just accomplished one of the Labours of Hercules as she returned to the main room. “Alright. Hopefully your sister will be free for a coffee in about an hour, because we won’t have much time; we have to get back on the road within two hours of reaching Berkeley. Better double-check right now.”

"Oh. Well, that’s- what?"

It had barely registered just what Weiss said. Not until she suddenly blinked a couple of times, raising her eyebrows. Weiss had altered the travel path, only by a tiny fraction. But even then, she didn't have to do it for all.

"For real? You actually did this for me?"

Pursing her lips, the girl turned to look out the window instead of looking back at Yang. “Hey, do you think I want to be responsible for more family strife - especially when it’s not even my family?”

"Thanks, Weiss." No sarcasm this time. This was the first nice thing Weiss had done for her that didn't benefit herself in some way. Even if it was something as small as making an extra hour to get coffee with her sister – which when dealing with a tight touring schedule, wasn’t so small after all. Maybe that streak would continue.

After messaging her sister, she looked back over to her principal. "So… you got any siblings?"

“Hm?” She waved a hand as if it were a trivial matter, but still answered. “Yeah. Older sister. She’s completely impossible sometimes but hey, that’s a sibling for you.”

Even if it was trivial to Weiss, Yang wasn't going to give up. "What's her name?"

Weiss pinned the blonde brute down with a stare for a long moment, as if trying to decide whether or not it was worth telling her, or if she were being teased somehow. Adjusting herself in her seat, she sighed, “Winter. She inherited most of the business sense from my father, but I got the natural vocal talent from my mother. So we both resent each other for different reasons. It happens, right?”

"You hate your own sister?" Such a thing was completely alien to Yang. She'd grown up in a close family unit, herself; her sister and her father. And she kept in contact with both of them. Yet Weiss seemed to hate her sister now, as well as her dad, from what she gathered earlier at least.

“I don’t hate her, per se.” Then her brows knit. “And where do you get off passing judgment on our relationship?! You haven’t even met her; you don’t know what she’s like!”

"You know every single question I ask you isn't an attack, right? I might actually want to get to know you?" She didn't know what else to say apart from that. It seemed the subject was a touchy one, at least, not one Yang could ask about just yet. At the very least, she wanted to get to know Weiss from Weiss's own perspective, rather than her father's. But the diva was making that impossible.

“Well, who says I want to get to know you?” However, the instant it was out of her mouth, she looked down at the table on which her laptop was perched, squirming. “I apologise, that was… ruder than I intended. But you do seem to be making a lot of assumptions!”

Trying not to roll her eyes too hard, Yang simply folded her arms, turning on her chair to face fully in her direction, raising one of her eyebrows. "Well I can only assume because you're hardly saying a word to me. So do you wanna at least try and make this journey speed up a little by making conversation, or not?"

“Perhaps if you can rub both of your brain cells together to spark an interesting topic! I don’t really want to talk about my sister, she’s a pain in the posterior and we don’t get along!” Sighing, she followed up quickly with, “Tell me about yours instead.”

Insult notwithstanding, this was better than nothing. Even if the diva remained a complete mystery to her, at least she wasn't telling her to sit there in silence. Shrugging her shoulders, she obliged. "Her name's Ruby, she's eighteen. Small fry with black hair with a red fringe. She’s studying engineering since she's quite the little mechanic." Then she let out a small chuckle. "Actually, she's a huge fan of yours. Posters, shirts, limited edition vinyl – pretty sure she's even got a Tumblr blog dedicated to you."

Weiss smiled, partly bemused and partly weary. “Really? That’s fun, I suppose. I mean, sometimes the fame gets to me, but at least I’m ensuring my financial future.” After a second or two, she smoothed out her skirt and asked, “Does… Ruby like it at Berkeley? Have many friends there?”

"Oh, yeah. She has a fair few from what I remember. Um… a guy called John is one, I think? Then there's Nora, but Nora seems really hyper and a lot to take from what I hear. And of course her roommate, Penny, who she talks about all the time. I swear, if she's not fangirling over you, she's fangirling over her."

The pop princess’s smile had become slowly more earnest as she listened to Yang speak, until she finally said, “That’s so sweet. Makes me wish I hadn’t missed out on the typical ‘college experience’… oh well. I’m glad she’s found some people to hang out with there.”

"Yeah, she’s setting up a great little group of friends. It's nice to hear her talk about them. Sometimes I wonder if she talks about me, y'know? Like, tells them about what we did as kids, that kinda junk. But I’m probably not on her mind that mu-" But before Yang could continue with that tale, her phone buzzed. After taking a quick glance, the small smile she had only grew even more. "And speak of the devil, she says she's free for coffee. Nice!"

“Ah, perfect; that means I won’t have to undo the change in our route. And don’t worry, I won’t tag along; you and your sister must have all sorts of bonding rituals to attend.”

She was doing a good job of acting nonchalant, but one of her feet was tapping quite rapidly. Yang had a suspicion, and decided to act upon it. "Aww, you're welcome to come with, if you want. You changed the route just so I could see my sister; the least I can do is get you a latte or something." It seemed only fair to offer such an exchange. Even if Weiss was going to sit with them in silence, at least it would show she was making an effort.

“Well...” She glanced over at Yang again, and for the first time, she looked like she wasn’t sure of herself. Not momentarily, but overall. “Only if you’re sure. I could just as easily stay on the bus.”

"I'm more than sure. So long as your order doesn't come to above ten bucks; until I get your dad's first cheque I’m pretty much broke. Bike maintenance, all that stuff."

Laughing, Weiss tossed her hair and said, “I’ll order light, but… honestly, you don’t have to pay for my coffee. I have a black AmEx, you know.”

"Yeah, but I’m the one inviting you out; seems like I ought to spring for it." But to sweeten the deal even more, she began to smirk. "You know… If we have a spare minute or two to get it outta the trailer, I could show you my bike afterwards."

“The VFR Eight-hundred?!” Then she cleared her throat and smiled more casually. “Sounds interesting, yes. Perhaps I can convince the driver to follow us up the road for a while. I’ll pay for gas, of course, since you are on the clock.”

"That's actually what I was thinking; we could finish the drive down on the bike and be there early, then you can do anything you need to before the bus even gets there. See? More practical, _and_ I get you up close and personal."

Of course the latter part was a flirtatious comment, and she waggled her eyebrows to make it even more over-the-top. Yang never did allow Weiss to live the lesbian comment down. Every given moment over their past week of preparations, she found a way to make an innuendo of some kind whenever possible.

“Get me up close and p-” Sighing in irritation, she got up and brushed past her as she walked through the room toward the lavatory. “I’m going to powder my nose. Try not to look through the keyhole while I’m in there, _if_ you can manage that! Gosh, make one mistaken assumption and you never live it down…”

More eyebrow-waggles was her only response to that, until she disappeared into the lavatory. Leaving Yang to her own devices again. Finding herself shaking her head, she peered back at her phone again to check the time.

"It's gonna be a looooong trip…"

* * *

 

The small coffee house near campus was relatively packed, and Weiss was quite uncomfortable. The large sun hat and Jackie O. shades helped conceal her identity - a necessity for her that she wished she could afford to do without - but it was a pain remembering not to take them off.

Apparently, Ruby would be there in a few minutes, or so the text she had sent informed Yang. So the big sister was hanging out by the door, waiting to spot her, while Weiss held their table and looked after the iced mocha Yang had left behind. Part of her was tempted to steal a sip, but that would be both rude and disgusting. Drinking after her bodyguard… what on earth was she thinking?

A part of Yang was both excited and terrified for how the meeting would go down. On the plus side, she'd see her sister again, sit down, catch up properly with her. On the other, Weiss possibly would ruin the atmosphere for them entirely, sitting and making snide comments every chance. Whether or not she would tell Ruby who Weiss was or not was still up in the air. After all, this was her icon, someone she looked up to and was even inspired by. If she were to find out that Weiss was really just a diva who was mean to everyone, what would it do to her?

But she had no more time to think, since she saw the mess of black and red hair on its way. "There you are!"

“SIS!” The younger girl’s footsteps picked up in speed until she ploughed into Yang, nearly knocking her backward into another couple who were lingering near the doorway. Squeezing her tight around the middle, she grunted, “Ohhhh my GOD, I missed you so much!”

"Whoooaaaa there, demolish half the place while you're at it, why don't you?” she laughed, immediately bringing a hand up to pet her hair as she hugged her back eagerly. She hadn't even glanced back at the table yet. "How have you been? I mean, I know we text pretty often, but still!"

“Then you know I’m fine,” Ruby laughed as she readjusted her glasses, both cheeks bunched up from the force of her enormous grin. “You’re the one with all the news! Bodyguard to the rich and famous?! What’s that like?”

"Well it's..." Then she began to peer back toward the table, particularly the one where said person was sitting. Maybe she could pass Weiss off as someone else until they were ready to tell her. "It's got its ups and downs, like all jobs. C'mon - I'll get you a drink and we can all hang out for a while."

Nodding, Ruby followed her into the shop and toward the counter. Only when they were waiting in line behind some hipster in a newsboy hat did she think to ask, “Wait... who is ‘we all’?”

"Oh, just someone from the bus. She wanted coffee, too, so I brought her along." At least that would stall for time for a while before she decided whether to reveal Weiss or not. Just as a drink would. "So, what'cha having? I'll buy."

“Ooh! They have an iced hot chocolate here that I love so so SOOOO much!”

Which she ordered the instant the man moved on to wait for his drink, surprising the cashier. Shortly thereafter, they got the drink and proceeded over to the table.

“There you are,” Weiss sighed quietly. “Hello, I’m-”

“Nice to meet you!” Ruby burst out excitedly, grabbing her hand and shaking it up and down. Yang was glad; it meant her plan to have her meet her idol without knowing she was her idol was still intact. “You work with my sister, right?! Oh man, you guys must have so many stories!”

Blinking at the sudden burst of energy that seemed to make up Ruby entirely, Weiss smiled and said, “Um, yes, I do. Ruby, right? Yang’s told me so much about you.”

"Sure have. Take a seat, sis!" She didn't even wait for her sister to sit down before taking her own drink back again, immediately taking a sip. It was no longer as cold as she'd have liked, but still quite good. "Yeah, I've told her about your college and Penny and that kinda stuff; lots of time to kill on the bus, amirite?”

“What about Penny? I mean, why would you tell your friends about anything I’m doing? It’s so boring. I mean, to other people!” Laughing, she took a drink of her chocolate before starting and turning back to Weiss. “Oh! Sorry, I’ll shut up - what is it you do with my sister?”

The bemused smile spoke volumes. Glancing at Yang, a coy smile came into her features when she saw Yang wink. She was catching on. After a moment, she turned back and said, “Well, mostly I just help her with navigation. I was the one who navigated this little detour.”

“Cool, cool! So you’re like a navigator person? Do you drive the bus sometimes?!”

"Now Ruby, why would she drive the bus when she can relax in the back with me?" The flirting never stopped, even right there in front of her sister! And what only made it worse was the immediate wink that followed, aimed at Weiss yet again. Of course, by now Weiss’s reaction was merely to purse her lips and go back to sipping her half-caff latte with a hint of pumpkin spice.

“Yeah, I guess that’s a good point,” Ruby laughed, scratching the back of her head. “So tell me - Yang kinda tried, but she just started, so I think you’re the better person to ask. What’s it like... working with THE Weiss?”

THE Weiss in question nearly spit her drink across the table but managed to maintain composure. Seemed she hadn’t been expecting that their “ruse” would actually work. “Oh, it’s horrible. She’s kind of a priss, always ordering everybody around and snapping at people for no reason. You do know she made your sister punch someone out on her first day, right?”

Smile turning a bit more earnest at the diva’s self-assessment, she laughed, "I already told you a thousand times –and you even saw what happened –he spanked my ass, alright? Touch the junk, get dunked, and that's all I'll say about it."

In truth, Weiss regretted that first day even then, especially knowing it was a ply to try and get her new employee fired. Nonetheless, she took another sip of her drink to appear busy.

“Yeah, Yang told me about that,” Ruby growled under her breath, hunching over her beverage. “Boy, if I could get that guard in a room by myself, I’d... well I couldn’t beat him up much, but I could at least kick him in the shins!”

Giggling, Weiss said, “I’m sure you would. But by all accounts, your sister can take care of herself. She’s earned this job.”

“But I just can’t believe that Weiss is like that,” Ruby went on as if she hadn’t spoken, and not noticing the smile on her sister’s face getting wider. “She’s so nice in all her interviews, and she’s always doing charity work and junk like that! I mean, did you see the thing she recorded to help homeless kittens?!”

Weiss glanced over at Yang. Her employer’s expression was hard to read behind those sunglasses, but she seemed to be staring right at her. “I don’t know, what do you think of her? Isn’t she a real grouch, always snapping at you?”

Was this a challenge? It was like Weiss was daring her to reveal her to the world. That or say just enough to make the journey on the bike one of the most awkward ever if she chose to speak of her in a bad light with her right there.

Playing it safe, she sighed, "She's… a handful. But I think I’m starting to understand her better. Big baby that she is."

“I can’t believe you guys!” Ruby burst out, even while Weiss was covering her mouth and trying her best not to laugh out loud. “She’s the coolest ever, and you’re talking about her like she’s a jerk! This is- Sis, I’m really disappointed in you!”

Finally, she'd tolerated enough. She couldn't allow Weiss to win, whatever game they had ended up playing. Taking a quick glance around the room to check no one was listening, she leant toward Ruby closely, looking between her and Weiss.

"Ruby, I’m disappointed in _you_ – didn’t even ask who this is with me! Dad raises us better than that!"

“Who she is? She’s your co-worker, um... Stacy! Or something!” Then her eyes squinted slightly at Weiss. “Wait... you never did tell me your name, did you? And even if you did, it’s probably not Stacy at all.”

“I didn’t,” Weiss chuckled, still hiding behind her hand. “But I’m glad to know I look like a ‘Stacy’.”

"Ruby..." Yang began in a hushed tone, now scratching the top of her head to try hide her secondhand embarrassment. "White hair? Shades we still couldn’t afford if we sold our house? I mean, I know she has a big hat on, but _geeze…_ "

“Shades w.... what? I mean, what are you trying to s…” But Weiss was pushing the shades down her nose so Ruby could see her eyes. That seemed to be enough. “Wha... whatwhAT _WHAAAAAT?!?!”_

“Wow, you okay?” Weiss laughed good-naturedly. But then when Ruby began to slide off her stool in Yang’s direction, she stood up and asked more urgently, “HEY, are you okay?!”

"Hooold up there, little Rose!" Immediately Yang slid her hands over to support Ruby, keeping her as upright as she could on the stool, even managing to balance her back upright. "See, this is why I couldn't say anything!"

“Gosh, I can’t believe she fainted! Really _fainted_ \- people still do that?!” Turning to a neighbouring table, she snatched up a glass of water with a vague “Mind if I borrow this?” and turned back, splashing it into the young girl’s face.

“AGHGHBLKHH!” Ruby burst out, flailing all her limbs and accidentally elbowing Yang in the forehead. Wincing at the sudden hit, she immediately went to rub her head once she was sure Ruby could sit up on her own, groaning out in mild pain. She could barely believe her reaction, either.

"I did say she’s a big fan…"

"THIS IS THE BIGGEST THING EVER!" Ruby half-squealed. When a half-dozen patrons turned around to raise their eyebrows at her, she came back to herself enough to duck her head and whisper, "I mean... you're really here, in this random coffee shop, talking to me and my sister!"

Still amused at all of her reactions, even though she had looked like she was about to panic when she squealed, the pop star shrugged. "You do understand that I drink coffee, right? It's not that abnormal."

"I hardly call that half-caff thing 'coffee'," Yang teased, looking back to the completely shell-shocked fangirl, she could only begin to laugh at her again, shaking her shoulder to try and get her back to reality. "Yo, she's still a person, Rubes. Maybe not like you and me, but still human!"

"No, she's a goddess," Ruby breathed weakly. Then she pressed both hands down on the tabletop and leaned in, eyes looming even wider behind the lenses of her glasses. "Your first mainstream album changed my LIFE! Before that, all I listened to was chiptune music - and yeah that's great and I still love it, but you drew me out of that world and into pop, which I always kind of thought was lame, but yours is SO not lame! The EP you released before that first album touched me in special places inside, the lyrics were so heartfelt and sad, and I still don't know what 'Broken Mirror' is about but it felt like you were ME, like you were telling ME you understood all my weird feelings of self-doubt! And that's probably stupid, but I don't know, maybe I needed that, and there it was, and just.... AHHHH!"

The table was silent for a few seconds as Ruby tried to regain her breath, finally sinking back down into her chair. Weiss took a sip of her latte to give them all time to think, then cleared her throat.

"Do you promise to keep a secret?" The vigorous nod from Ruby was encouragement enough. "Alright. 'Broken Mirror' was about my friends from before I went mainstream, about how I saw myself when they abandoned me because my new lyrics were ‘too sinful’. It's hard for some people to accept that you want to sing about ALL of life… and not just fluffy love songs or the stuff from my early years."

Although she mostly let the two chatter to one another, Yang couldn't help but take in that part of the conversation. She was so used to Weiss being a pop star that she never gave much mental consideration to what things were like for her before she was mainstream. Or even that she had friends! She seemed to just have assumed that Weiss had always been Weiss, and probably didn't want or need anyone in her life.

How wrong she was. She needed to learn more about her client yet.

"That's not cool!" Ruby snapped, clenching her hands into fists - both of excitement and righteous fury. "You're allowed to sing about more than Jesus! And you still sing about good things, like protecting people from domestic violence, and enjoying life instead of just worrying all the time, and- and OH! What about 'Daily Drama,' were you're warning people not to gossip and stuff? How many people wouldn't hear that if you were still religious?"

"Very true," Weiss laughed. Apparently, she was quite adept at handling "super fans", and Ruby was the very personification of that term. "You're a pretty smart girl."

"That's what my professors say," Ruby said with modest dismissal.

Weiss was a Christian singer before all this? That completely shocked Yang, especially since the songs she had heard about by Weiss were about boys, and some of the music videos were highly 'un-Christian' to say the least. And this never came up in the interviews at all – including Yang’s interview for her job. But maybe her father didn’t mention it because it no longer applied.

She agreed with Ruby, though. "Yeah, those guys are jerks if they left you behind just for that. Surely they should have been happy for your success."

"Yeah, you'd think," Weiss sighed, her shrug very casual. Practiced and measured to give the impression she didn't care. "Oh well, their loss, right? If they were willing to shun me because - GOD forbid, except He doesn't, really - I actually find the opposite sex attractive, then hey, I didn't need that kind of negativity in my life."

Did Weiss still have Christian beliefs at heart? Something about that made Yang oddly uncomfortable. Even if she had joked about being a lesbian at the start, the idea of it actually being something she was deeply against seemed to make her grow awfully quiet. Maybe that wasn't the best joke to keep going after all. And there were other things that began to make her even more worried. How would _that_ go when the topic came up in conversation?

As best she could, she tried to keep to the subject at hand. "Well... yeah, exactly. I mean, I don't know if you're still a Holy Roller or not, but you're not exactly doing a Neon Katt and dropping f-bombs and thrusting at the camera."

That had Ruby snorting with laughter. "Neon WISHES she was Weiss! And she's so gross, her music is good but I can't handle watching her videos!"

"If you've seen one pelvic thrust, you've seen them all," Weiss agreed. "But she's actually a pretty cool person. Really intense, and sometimes she says insensitive things, but cool."

"What?" Ruby gasped, eyes wide. "You've met her? You've TALKED to her?!" Then she nodded. "Oh right, the VMAs - you were both there, but I never saw you together!"

"Backstage," she confirmed with a nod as she picked up her latte again. "I mean, it's hard NOT to rub elbows back there; I'm not a 'making the connections' kind of girl, but I try to at least be personable."

"Unless it's Neptune Vasilias, then she'd want to do more than rub elbows," Yang leant in to whisper to Ruby, only just loud enough so Weiss could hear as well. But on that subject… "Didn't you say we're gonna do with a show with him when we get to the Midwest or something? I think one of my old pals still lives up that way."

"Oh? Yes, we're supposed to meet up in Chicago." The tiniest bit of excitement bled into her voice as she added, "My father also said there _might_ be something happening in New York later on, but I can't confirm that. Also, you didn't hear any of this!"

"Got it!" Ruby said with a salute. "But you bet the minute I see anything official online about it, I'm reblogging the hell out of the post!"

Grinning bemusedly, Weiss answered, "Good to know. Thanks for your dedication - seriously, I still can't believe people actually dedicate entire blogs to me!"

"Like I said to you on the bus, if she wasn't talking about Penny, she's talking about you. Her blog mainly consists of gif-sets of your videos and interviews with the odd theories on what the songs mean. Although there is… _The Text_ _P_ _ost_."

Without context, Weiss would have no clue what that meant at all. But Yang was very aware that it was the ramblings of a teenager with a huge crush, hinting at something particularly raunchy. Ruby's eyes got a lot rounder behind her glasses - as if that was even possible - and her cheeks began to match the sporty red streaks in her hair.

"Yaaaang, you can't!"

"Can't what?" Weiss asked, glancing between the two of them. "What text post is this?"

"What was it again, Ruby? _‘I dream of a day when life won't_ _screw_ _me but W_ _eiss wi_ _-’"_

Both of the younger girl's hands slapped over Yang's mouth, cutting off the rest of the sentence into a jumble of muffled grunts. "TH-THAT WASN'T ME WHO WROTE THAT! I only reblogged it, I was… don't take it out of context!"

Weiss's eyebrows were knitted together in confusion and she innocently asked, "What? What's the rest of it?"

That question remained unanswered, as every time she tried to pry Ruby's hands away from her mouth, Ruby covered it again. It wasn't until she reached for her drink instead that Ruby stopped.

"Seriously, it was just a dumb text post, _god._ If I remember when we get to LA, I'll show you." And then her eyes snapped open wide. "Shit, what time is it even?!"

"Oh, it's..." When Weiss glanced at her phone, she looked up with a shrug. "We have about ten more minutes if we want to maintain our schedule. If it were up to me, I could push it back more, but my crew would be irritated."

Wincing, Yang looked back to Ruby. If it were up to her, she would stay, as well. But she had her job to do, to make sure Weiss got to her tour location undisturbed. Even if that meant she was the disturbance. "We can't really do that the first night; it'd look bad on the crew and on us. Sorry, Ruby."

Watching her for a moment, Weiss thought about their situation. She thumbed through a few screens on her phone, sent a text, and then gasped theatrically. "Oh, wait - I misread the time! We have _an hour_ and ten minutes. Do you think Ruby would like to hit the mall? We still have to upgrade your wardrobe a little."

Suddenly the saddened expression in the younger girl’s features seemed to light back up. She could spend longer with her sister, after all – _and_ her idol! Grateful, Yang looked back over to Weiss, eagerly nodding. "Sure! I mean, _I_ think my current wardrobe is fine, but if it means a little more time with my li’l sis, I'm in!"

Only then did Ruby seem to find her voice again. “WE'RE GOING SHOPPING? _TOGETHER?!"_

"Hope you know she's not gonna shut up about this for weeks," Yang commented, finishing the last of her drink and plopping the cup back down on a nearby tray before she got to her feet. But Weiss was smiling; something like a genuine smile, only just tinged with the weary patience of a celebrity.

"If that's the least I can do for your sister, I'm glad to do it. Now, chop chop!"

* * *

 

 "What do you mean, we can't go to Spencer's?!" Ruby groaned in annoyance.

Shopping with her idol was going extremely well. So far, Yang and Weiss had gotten more entertainment for their bus trips, including a few books and magazines – and a power strip so they could both charge their devices at once. Ruby got a new pair of sneakers with light-up soles from Yang. The only stores left were what Weiss insisted upon the most: clothes.

Yang could only continue to laugh at her sister, patting her shoulder as they walked and her little feet lit up with each step. "Because I'm not about to take 'The Weiss' to the same building where there's buttplugs and naughty greeting cards, no matter how much you try and convince me you'll stay in the front half!"

"They have _what_ kind of plugs?!" Weiss squealed - before collecting herself and clearing her throat. A few shoppers had already turned to look at her, and creating any more of a scene would spell a media disaster. "Uhhh, I mean… honestly, we don't have time to go in there anyway, even if I was in the market for such… _accessories_."

"Hmm… I never _pegged_ you for backdoor hijinks,” she punned. Not that she expected Weiss to get it, sheltered as she seemed to be. “Guess I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Anyway, there's way better places to go for stuff for that."

But before Weiss could glare at her any longer than what would be comfortable, Ruby was rushing over to yet another clothes store, pointing it out to Weiss immediately. "How about this for Yang's new look?"

The glare turned into a look of alarm. "Hot Topic? Oh, no no NO, that is not the look - we want her to blend in, not look like my _pet_." She turned to look further down the hallway, all the way to the end. "I see a Macy's in the distance; I suppose that will do, since we're a long, long way from Barneys."

"Now hold on, I'm not about to blow my entire budget on clothes I'm only gonna wear once. I at least wanna get something I like rather than something with a label." Even if Weiss had insisted on paying over and over, she didn't want her to, nor did she want to parade around in clothes too expensive and girly for herself.

Reluctantly sighing, Ruby began to think, tapping her chin with one of her fingers before snapping them as she landed on a possibility. "Old Navy! That's a good compromise, right?"

Again, a sigh from the diva, but what she said was, "Suppose it is. They should have something palatable."

The inside of the store was full of patrons between the ages of eight and twenty, with a person over that demographic here and there. It wasn't terribly busy, but they did have to elbow around a body or two to get to the back.

"No, no clearance racks," Weiss snapped at them when they turned in their direction. "We don't have time to go hunting – and finding something good there is like finding a needle in a bowl of other needles. You'll usually get stung no matter what." Flicking through a nearby rack of "distressed" jeans, she asked, "What's your size? About a... ten? Fourteen?"

"A twelve, usually. Thanks for not calling me chubby, or whatever." Having wandered around finding other much nicer tops, she found one that was relatively low cut, with the odd couple of frills down its front. "Oooh, that's nice..."

"Hmm." Glancing at Ruby, Weiss snatched a size twelve from her rack as she asked, "Should we at least try Yang's shirt, or look for something more tasteful? What do you think?"

"The slightly frilly one? Um…" She looked over the other shirt rails very quickly, spotting another low-cut top instead. A yellow one, that featured a fiery heart emblem on the left-hand side. "What about this? And then something for your neck to go with, like a scarf?"

Weiss's eyes lit up. "Perfect! This with a snood!"

"Snood?"

"Infinity scarf." Snorting at Ruby's still-confused expression, she nipped one of said tubes of orange fabric from a nearby rack. "This – or one in black, maybe? We'll try a few."

"Hey, what about some shorts, as well? If your tour's going into the summer months, she'll need to keep herself cool."

As soon as she said it, she pulled out a pair of black spandex shorts, only venturing very slightly down the thigh. Considering what Yang wore usually, it was slightly more adventurous, but the blonde seemed to grin at the prospect.

"I like your thinking! Shall I go try them on?"

"Might as well. If these don't work out, we can always do more browsing."

Carrying the two shirts, shorts, jeans and infinity scarves, they made their way to the changing rooms. Yang nipped inside by herself, so Weiss seated herself on the nearby bench to wait.

And Ruby sat next to her. For a moment or two, she sat perfectly still, twiddling her thumbs to try and give herself something to do. But Weiss didn't protest, so she shuffled closer. Still no protest. So she shuffled over yet again, more or less ending up by her side. Her head was still buzzing. The woman who was her idol was sat right there, helping her sister buy clothes!

"You know... She probably won't say it, but I'm pretty sure Yang really enjoyed today. She never got to do much girly shopping when she was younger."

"Oh?" Weiss asked off-handily. Though she wasn't trying to be rude, without a task in front of her, all of her mind was already focused back on the tour. "Why not?"

"Well, Mom died while we were really young. Too young to be concerned about what we were wearing, at least. And dad was kinda the 'go in, grab whatever, get out' kinda shopper. So she never got to try on anything like dresses or skirts till she was way older. But I mean, you know why that is, anyway. Wait – here, hang on."

Weiss was still trying to figure out why she should know “why that is” when Ruby yanked out her phone, flicking through various menus until she found one particular picture of two children. One resembled Ruby down to a T, the hair, the red-and-black clothes, a small hood half-covering her head. The other, who seemed a little older, had much shorter hair, and far more masculine and baggy clothes.

"I mean, look at us! Dad totally dressed us like dorks."

"Look at those two little tomboys!" Weiss laughed as she took the phone with her other hand to get a better angle with the screen. And then she grinned even wider. True, they did look like dorks, but Yang was undeniably already cute back then. "You're right, though; her fashion sense has only marginally improved."

"Well, it's a hell of a lot better than this…" Scrolling through a few more photos, she eventually got to one of Yang and a small Corgi. Yet again, her hair was very short. It looked as though it was barely allowed to grow out at all. The clothing choice, some combat-print pants and a bright yellow shirt with a Tonka truck on it. Unless Ruby had said it was Yang, it would have appeared to be a small boy. “This is when we first got Zwei, our dog. About a year before that first one."

"Awwww, what an adorable puppy!" she cried out. The clothing choices did strike Weiss as strange - but then again, Ruby had explained their father's inability to shop for girls. It seemed the two of them had only adjusted to it when they got older, and eschewed the ungodly camo print.

Then something else suddenly seemed more important for her to mention. "About... your mom. I know what that's like." Then she caught herself. "Then again, you've probably read my bio, haven't you?"

"Y-Yeah... I did. It's really hard, huh?" Ruby tucked the phone back into her pocket in order to pay full attention to Weiss. She knew from online that Weiss's mother had died in her younger years, but an online profile only told so much. It couldn't tell her how that made her feel.

"Well... what else can you do? Just pick up your head and move on. That's... that's it." This was one of the pop star's least favourite subjects; she always felt bad when she thought about her mother. Not because she was sad, but because she never felt like she was sad enough. "But... I am really sorry about yours, that you lost her. No little girl should have to go through what you did."

"Oh, trust me, compared to Yang, I'm fine. Right as rain! But the stuff Yang had to go throu-"

"So how do I look?"

They were cut off by Yang’s return. She stood in front of them, hand on her cocked hip. She'd chosen the short shorts and the yellow tank, along with the orange snood. All in all, making a somewhat complete outfit. Save maybe a jacket.

"Cold," Weiss snorted. "But... I think I spotted something that will complete the look."

Weiss returned to the main sales floor and nabbed a leather jacket that had short, capped sleeves and brass buttons. Rushing into the changing rooms again, she handed it over. "It was in the clearance - for obvious reasons. With that look, though... don't ask me why, but my intuition's telling me to go with it."

"You think?" But eager to give it a go, Yang took the jacket from her, trying it on over the top and buttoning it up.

The jacket didn't exactly cover her torso; in fact, if she wasn't wearing a shirt it would be exposed completely! But, just as Weiss thought, it brought the look together. Looking at the nearby mirror, she turned to each side.

"Oh, yeah… I dig this."

"Naturally," Weiss said with a flip of her hair. "Shall we take all of it with us to the checkout? We might also want to pick up a few other tanks, just in case."

"With that stuff, Sis, you look both pretty _and_ ready to kick butt!" To punctuate her point, Ruby began punching back and forth at the air, an action that prompted a giggle from her older sister as she adjusted the shorts to a better fit. She wanted to make sure everything remained situated.

"Yeah, you're right. You think yellow works? Or should I do another colour?"

"We'll do all the colours. And _before_ you say anything," Weiss cut her off, "these _are_ clothes you'll be wearing while you're on duty, so _I'm_ paying for them! And that's final!"

"Ugh, whatever. Least it's better than a suit, I guess." And with that, she turned to get back into the changing room.

Once she was gone, Ruby tapped Weiss's shoulder to get her attention again. As much as she didn't want it to be, there was an obvious red blush on her face. One that couldn't be helped. "L-Listen... I'm sorry I fainted earlier. Y-You just… helped me through a lot. Your music! I mean, you didn't know you did, but you did. And it's been so great to meet and… shop with you today."

This was something Weiss had heard a thousand times, and she heard herself using one of her standard replies: "Honestly, I always love meeting fans." But the earnestness in the girl's voice made her reach out and grip her shoulder as she took off her sunglasses for a moment. "Especially ones as nice as you, with such badass big sisters."

That made her grin like an idiot, even hunch her shoulders in embarrassment. "I probably sound like a real dork, huh? I'll bet Yang will be way better company for you on your travels. She doesn’t lose her mind like me.”

"You sound like a really sweet person who's passionate about what she likes. Nothing wrong with that." Her mouth twitched in amusement as she asked, "If I give you a little hug, can you remain conscious?"

Blinking a couple of times in disbelief, she pinched the skin of her arms a couple of times just to check she wasn't dreaming. Once assured of that, she scratched the top of her head. "I can't promise anything, but I'll try?"

Gently, Weiss brought her in for a hug, still clutching the sunglasses in one hand while the other patted her back. Then she whispered into her hair, "Your mother is proud of both of you, I'm sure. Smiling down on you from Heaven."

Although she remained more or less calm externally, internally Ruby was screaming. But that comment brought her straight back to earth – and in the best possible way. Her idol really was as nice and caring as she thought. She _knew_ Yang was only winding her up with those comments about her being so cruel.

"Thanks, Weiss. And I'm sure your mom's proud of you, too! And she will be especially proud while you're out on tour, I'm sure!"

"Oh god, is she gonna faint again?" Yang asked as she emerged with her new clothes all bundled up, watching the two share a tender moment. Ruby already had gotten further than her, it seemed!

"Perhaps not," Weiss laughed as she stepped back, one of her hands still remaining on Ruby's shoulder. "Your sister was just… oh, never mind. Let's get these in bags so we still have time to go to the music store."

"Sure, so you can look at the CDs and go ‘Not Me, Not Me, _Oh Neptune!!!,_ Not Me’..." Already ahead of them, Yang was making her way toward the checkout, in far lighter spirits than before. Most girls would shrug off a new set of clothes and simply move on to buying more without a second thought. But for Yang it seemed to mean more. _Far_ more.

Just before Weiss could go with her, Ruby quickly held her back a moment, saying in a hushed tone, "Seriously. She won't thank you for this, because she's not that kind of person; but it meant a lot to her after… _y’know_. She'll find a less obvious way to show it later, I bet."

The knowledge seemed to surprise Weiss a little. "Really? I mean... it's just a few clothes. The money is pocket change to me, I honestly don't mind. She doesn't have to do anything at all."

"It's how they make her _feel_ that she likes. You'll see after spending more time with her."

From that, it just sounded like Yang was proud of her appearance, and therefore proud of how the clothes made her look. But perhaps it was something else. Something more. Either way, the little sister then began to follow Yang, quickly tugging Weiss along with them. She really was going to have to wait and see what the fangirl meant.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: near-violence in this bit.

**=Chapter 3**

Following the music store - where Weiss bought a copy of her own album to sign for Ruby, which nearly made the excitable girl faint yet again - they had to be on their way. Ruby hugged both of them tearfully, and they promised to see her again soon.

The bike ride down the coast was exhilarating. Yang revved the engine and sent them barrelling along at top speed, and although Weiss did protest at first, neither of them could hear each other anyway. She was forced to simply cling to the taller girl's midsection and enjoy the ride.

And enjoy it she did. Weiss found herself minding the arrangement less and less. Yang was quite muscled, and against her will, she enjoyed feeling that through her shirt. Not having had many chances to be this close with anyone, it was somehow comforting, reassuring - and in a private corner of her mind, she began to let go of that resentment of her father's insistence on this particular bodyguard. A sassy blonde girl was far preferable to some stiff man in a suit who wouldn't let her go anywhere or do anything fun – even if she could be a little bit of a jerk sometimes.

Just as the sun was setting, they pulled into Los Angeles traffic, and opted to stow the bike in the trailer behind their tour bus and complete the journey in one vehicle - mostly because LA traffic was too noisy to truly enjoy a motorcycle ride much. That gave Weiss an opportunity to fix her hair a bit, and Yang a chance to more properly pack away her new clothing.

By the time they arrived at the sprawling arena, the rest of Weiss's crew were on the scene, and she and Yang were whisked off to her dressing room. They set about changing her clothes and doing her makeup and hair immediately, so practiced in their efficiency they looked like a well-oiled pit crew.

"The life of the rich and famous," Yang commented, taking a seat in the back of the room to keep out of Weiss and the makeup artists' way. She had donned the outfit she had on in the store, along with a pair of yellow tinted shades they had picked up in the last five minutes. All in all, she really did look like a bodyguard fit for a pop star. Stylish, yet intimidating.

Still, she continued to watch them plaster Weiss with more than enough for the show. Eventually, she quipped, "Say, could you guys do me afterwards? I always hate putting on my face in the morning."

"If one of them volunteers, that's fine by me," Weiss snorted. "Their job isn't to work on anyone else, though."

"I wouldn't mind doing it," said the girl with shoulder-length green hair. "You're pretty cute - just need some definition in the cheekbones, maybe."

As she lowered her shades to give a sly wink, she spoke in a slightly lower tone, "When Madame Weiss is on stage, we’ll have three hours to kill. I can give you a closer look, if you'd like."

At first, she said, "Oh, that'd be-" Then, she seemed to catch on. "Um... well, I don't know..." A slight blush formed on her cheeks.

"Don't know what?" Weiss asked distractedly as she looked at herself in a compact, turning it this way and that.

"She doesn't know if she wants a closer look at my cheek bones or not. But I guess that depends if she wants to view them as a professional or as-"

"As what?" A particularly stern voice asked. The source was just entering the room behind two more security staff: a tall, white-haired woman whose expensive-looking glasses were perched at the end of her perfect nose. In her arms she held a large tablet, with plenty of documents loaded up – including security and media information.

"Go on, Miss Xiao Long; what were you going to say?"

"O-oh!" the green-haired girl gasped, the blush deepening even more. This was very flattering against her darker skin, but it was still easy to feel sorry for her being so nervous. "Miss Schnee! We didn't think you would be here for this performance!"

As if she was trying to brush the woman's very existence away, she went straight back to scrolling on her tablet mid-way through her sentence, making a slight wincing sound at one of the figures. "Oh, father thought it appropriate to send me, with this being the first tour since the incident. He wanted me to make sure that not too many paparazzi get through, but it looks like there's far too many for me to keep them _all_ out." Then she looked to Yang with a smirk. "But I'm sure when you're through flirting with someone actually doing their job, you can handle that, right?"

"Flirting?" Weiss asked in a haughty voice. "Wow, sounds like you're very out of practice if you think what Yang was doing qualifies. That's just her playful sense of humour." She did purse her lips before saying, "Such that it is."

"O-oh, I wasn't uncomfortable," the make-up girl lied, waving a hand. "And I didn't take it seriously!"

Completely uninterested, Winter simply kept scrolling away through more info, letting out a simple, "Of course not" before she turned back to Weiss again. "So you've got MTV, of course, TMZ, and I think I saw Lisa Lavender out there. Photographers waiting by the bus for when you come out. But I'm _sure_ Miss Xiao Long can handle it without punching anyone in the face this time, correct?"

"Of course she can!" Weiss snapped irritably, turning from the chair where two other girls were putting the finishing touches on her eyelashes. They apparently were practiced in pulling away suddenly due to Weiss's outbursts, so they wouldn't have to start over. "And she shouldn't be the only one out there watching my back! Isn't security in place?"

"Oh it is, but I just wanted to let you know in advance. You know how strict father is and how he would truly hate for there to be photos out there that he hasn't authorised."

That snide comment was the final straw. No longer was Yang going to simply sit around and take the constant abuse and negativity. "Excuse me, but you haven't even told me your name – yet you're making out I'm gonna fail miserably. You don't even know me."

Before she could respond, Weiss scoffed, "Oh, that's just my sister, Winter. She likes to believe the world will stop turning if she isn't blowing it along on its course with all of her hot air."

Winter Schnee pursed her lips for a moment at her thunder being stolen by her little sister. Attempting to recover, she sighed and said, "Need I remind you I'm the one who booked all the venues in California in the first place? You wouldn't even _have_ a tour if it wasn't for me."

"Except the tour goes all over. And Cali's just one state." When Yang gained an unimpressed look from the elder Schnee sister, she smugly pushed her shades back on fully, leaning right back in her chair to relax. "Besides, I got just the thing to keep those photos out. You'll be so glad I took media studies."

"You- wait, you took media studies?" Weiss asked.

"Yeah, I thought your father mentioned it when you first came in? But anyway, the trick is, if you hold up your middle finger until you're in safety, the pictures become unusable on conventional media and a lot of kid-friendly social media. So, if I shield Weiss while giving them the finger, they'll get nothing. Problem solved!"

"That sounds like a very... immature solution." Winter had finally looked up from her tablet, giving Yang her full attention for the first time in their whole encounter. "We'd prefer no pictures at all, not pictures of you looking like you're a brute." But the instant she said that, she remembered. "Oh, wait. Your first day..."

Folding her arms, Weiss sighed and waited for the other shoe to drop. "Alright, Winter, alright. What about her first day?"

"Dad told me she socked someone in the face? Hardly professional. That sounds more like the actions of some boy barely out of puberty than a woman."

Usually Yang would be able to retort instantly, but that comment seemed to suddenly steal her breath. And she did something that Weiss had been trying to make her do for weeks; shut up.

Was Yang actually offended by that comment? The pop star’s eyes were pulled to the blonde instantly, trying to figure out why she looked more crestfallen than angry. It must have really hit her in the gut for some reason. But why? The images of her and Ruby as small, tomboyish children came to mind; maybe she had been teased a lot when she was smaller for not being ladylike enough, and this was bringing those emotions back to the surface.

"Don't you have someone else's day to ruin?" she blustered at her sister. "There's probably a sound check technician who still actually enjoys life - go hang around him until he wants to jump off a building."

"Funny you should say that, since sound check is in five minutes. So I suppose I should attend that. Good luck, anyway." And as she left with a sarcastic wave, she stopped just as she got to the door, looking back toward the bodyguard, who still appeared wounded by her earlier comment. "Oh, and try not to make a spectacle of yourself."

Once she left, Yang seemed to just look to one side rather than snap back to her normal self, not even sparing a "what a bitch" comment. But with the shades covering her eyes, it was difficult to read her expression. Weiss let the makeup girls finish up their thing, and then stood and straightened the sleeves of her sequined jacket, letting it drape over the white tube top that barely covered her skin.

"Thank you," she told them in a business-like tone. "Lovely work, as always. If you ladies could step outside for a few minutes, please?" The makeup girls began filing out, with the green-haired one shooting an uncertain glance at Yang once before she did. Then they were alone again, and Weiss shut the door firmly.

"Are you alright?"

Jumping slightly in her skin, she looked over to Weiss once she realised she was being spoken to. Seemed she had actually zoned out at some point between Winter's comments and current events. Looking back to her client again, she forced a quick smile.

"Y-yeah, fine. Why?"

"Because you're doing a pretty good impression of someone who isn't." Then she shrugged. "I'm on in a few minutes. If you have anything you want to talk about, it's either now, or in a few hours."

At first, she remained silent for a moment, and then took a deep breath. It really did seem as though she was going to say something of importance, until she just let herself sigh, "Nah, it's nothing. Go do your show. The venue’s team will have you covered, so I'll keep myself busy in the bus for a while."

"Really? You mean you don't want to stay offstage and watch it from behind the scenes?"

She was chiding her, of course; they had already played a few dates, and she expected Yang to be tired of seeing it already. Managing to force out a small laugh, she looked back toward Weiss again with a more genuine smile, scratching the top of her head. "Yeah, I'll be fine. I might Skype with Ruby if she's free or something."

"Fair enough; sister-time is important." Then she pulled a face as she strode toward the door. "Well, it is when you have a sister like Ruby, anyway. Other times, not so much."

Then they were strolling down the hallway toward the throng of press waiting to snap a few pictures or ask a few questions. Weiss was the picture of poise and grace, striding on her glittery heels and hips swishing like a runway model. Her face was a mask of calm and detachment, not betraying any emotion.

In contrast to the grace that Weiss had, there was Yang. Still dressed in her somewhat rough clothing, still with the shades covering her eyes. And doing just what Winter thought was immature. She followed Weiss very closely, both arms outstretched, displaying her middle finger at everyone present. Even the few security guards who were there to make sure she got on stage safely were left confused by her actions. But judging by the annoyed grunts from the photographers, it was working.

Had it been any other bodyguard, they would have tried to shield Weiss with a blanket, or a jacket, or even themselves. Even if sometimes Yang was immature, brash and too flirty for her own good; she wasn't stupid. This way, she was doing her job without invading Weiss's personal space, showing her more respect than anyone else would.

Weiss noticed the groans and disappointed people dropping their cameras, but paid it no mind until they were around the corner. Then she turned back and whispered harshly, "Did you do the thing?"

"Oh, I did the thing." She grinned straight back, continuing to do it as they walked around the corner, making sure no one could follow them as she closed the door behind them.

That was the first load of paparazzi done with, though there would only be more once the show was finished. Now that they were in the relative quiet of backstage, she stopped her from going any further forward, only to slightly adjust her necklace. Even small details like that, no bodyguard would be concerned about.

"Well, now all TMZ will be able to talk about is Weiss's bodyguard who is… obscene." The adjusting of her necklace gave her pause, and she glanced up at Yang curiously. "Wh-what are you doing?"

"It was lopsided; I was just tryin' to make sure you look good. Not that you need my help."

Now that she was satisfied with how it looked, she stepped back to look at the whole outfit. She couldn't deny it; even if the makeup took forever and the outfit wasn't at all practical for real situations, Weiss looked stunning. Not just aesthetically pleasing, but attractive beyond all reason. Enough to bring a slight redness to Yang's cheeks.

"O-okay. You're good."

For once, however, Weiss was not entirely unperturbed by the closeness of her bodyguard. Perhaps it had been the long drive down on the back of her motorcycle, pressed right up against her strong back. Perhaps it was unrelated. Either way, Yang stepping back broke the spell, but she was still shaken.

"Thank you," she breathed. "Do I really look okay?"

"Always." But immediately, she shook her head. "I-I mean, for them! You're gonna knock 'em dead."

Why did that praise come so naturally? In fact, why on earth had she blushed in the first place?! This made no sense; only that morning, she was arguing with Weiss about every topic possible, and now she was unable to control her blush around her?

"You too," Weiss said with a slight nod. "I mean... why did I say that? You aren't performing tonight! Nobody cares how you look!" Then she cringed and hurried to add, "But you look good! Fine! You look fine!"

Nervously laughing, she lowered her shades a little more, giving a sly wink. "Just go do your sound check. I'll be back at the bus for a while."

"Precisely! Have fun!" Turning around, and still wondering why she had told Yang to "have fun" on the bus, she tromped off toward the sound booth, trying to bat away the stray thoughts. She had a show to put on.

And as she ventured out onto the stage, Yang found herself staring. Staring for far longer than she would have yesterday. Over the course of a simple coffee, mall trip and motorbike journey, Yang had seen an entirely new side to the diva. She saw a woman who treated someone she barely knew with so much kindness, even if they had no idea how to talk to her in the beginning. Someone who bought her an entirely new outfit for the sake of it. No one had treated her that well for a long, long time.

And yet, as she watched Weiss dance away, she felt that damn blush crawling back into her features, her heart rate steadily increasing. What was this she was feeling for her?

 _I can't. She's a girl. We're_ both _normal straight women. This would just ruin everything!_

The words Winter spouted off carelessly earlier had still left their mark. If it was anything else, she wouldn't have taken it to heart, and it wouldn't have had her second-guessing every last interaction. But now...

Now, as she headed back to the bus alone, she sighed. Backstage was no place to think about that further.

* * *

 

At last, Weiss was back in the dressing room, getting rid of her mic and having her makeup retouched. Then one or two fans with backstage passes were ushered in, allowed to take pictures with her and ask a few questions, which she would either answer or politely deflect. After signing whatever merchandise they had along with them, she said "Nice meeting you" and made her way out the rear exit.

"Whew," she breathed wearily. "I'll be so glad to have a nice, hot bath."

“Want me to scrub your back?” Yang joked.

“Ha, ha.”

She and Yang were just about to make their way back to the bus for the night when the stern voice of Winter could be heard again. "Oh, Miss Xiao Long?" When Yang turned, she was stood in the doorway, wiggling a finger in an attempt to lure her closer. "Could you please come here a moment? I have a few questions before you head to the next location."

Yang spared a glance at Weiss; the bus wasn’t far. “Fine,” she sighed as she relented.

Weiss didn't really notice; she was too exhausted, and too used to not having a bodyguard in the first place. She simply continued on her way across the small parking lot toward the welcoming arms of her vehicle.

Until she was stopped short unexpectedly. By the point of a knife held up toward her throat.

"Don't make a fucking sound." The taller, well-built man in the white mask was speaking low enough that no one else would hear. Even without a knife, this wasn't someone to mess around with, but as he slowly approached her, keeping the knife held high toward her face, he began to circle slowly behind her, beginning to cut off her retreat. "You're coming with me. No tricks, no games, or I swear to god..."

Instantly, Weiss felt as if she would faint much the way Ruby had. Her pulse was thundering in her neck, her palms beginning to dampen. Her head swam. This was something that had happened several times in her nightmares, but during the waking hours, she had always felt safe - even after the pictures came out. After all, a handful of photographs couldn't truly harm her.

This man, however, could. And he probably would if she didn't do exactly as he said. Raising her hands slowly, she whispered, "Are… are you out of your mind? Do you know who I am?"

"Of course I do. Why do you think I'm doing this? Now get moving, toward the back of the parking lot. The red van." He was behind her at that point, holding the knife outward, threatening to jab her in the back.

"Okay!" Weiss breathed shakily. "Okay, I... just relax, don't hurt me! You won't get anything if you do!" And she began to walk forward, albeit at a slow pace.

"Y'wanna risk that, sweet cheeks? Hurry up!" It was him that was shouting this time, not knowing it would attract the wrong kinds of attention. That or he didn't care; he was too worried about leading her away from the bus. And didn't hear the frantic footsteps heading their way.

"Alright, alright!" she snapped irritably. "You're the most impolite kidnapper I've ever met, do you know that?!"

"With that attitude I'll be the last one you ever- _OOF!"_

Suddenly the man was out from behind her completely, falling flat on his side, followed by a mess of blonde hair. _Yang!_ Yang had made it back in time to stop the madness! While he was dazed, she quickly shuffled up to force the knife out of his hand, only to bend his arm right into his back, making him yell out again when it got to the right angle.

"Uncle! Uncle! Fucking hell, that hurts!"

Shaking, Weiss turned slowly to look at the scene, still irrationally afraid of the knife even though she could hear that the thug was on the ground. When she saw Yang grinding his face into the pavement, she finally allowed herself to breathe again.

"Fucking good! It _better_ hurt!" Yang continued to hold the captor in said position with one of her arms, reaching to her cell with another. A simple few clicks later and she returned it to her pocket, having told security to come to the scene. In that time, she didn't spare Weiss a glance. She only called out to her, "Get back to the bus! I'll catch up once this guy's put away!"

Nodding numbly, Weiss dashed toward the safety of her bus. It wasn't far, and once she got there she flung the door open and slammed it shut.

Paranoia set in. She walked through the entire floor plan of her vehicle, making absolutely sure there was not another soul on board. When she was finally satisfied, she threw herself into one of the couches in the living room, allowing her silvery heels to clatter to the floor as she drew her knees up under her chin, clutching them tight.

Twenty minutes later, the door began to rattle slightly, obvious signs someone was trying it. And then there was a distinct noise of something going into the lock. Someone was coming in!

But when it swung open, yet again it was the mess of blonde hair. The very same that had tackled her kidnapper into submission, held him still until she could make her escape. Yang. The first day when Weiss had ordered Yang to punch someone, it was choice. She had numerous options and no pressure for any of them. This was the first time Yang had to act on her instincts alone, and she did by flinging _herself_ at the man in question. Even at the risk of winding up on the wrong end of that knife.

But that didn't matter now. All that mattered to her was Weiss's mental state, which, when she looked up to see her curled up on the couch, didn’t seem to be great. Locking the door behind her, she leaned back against it. She didn't want to go any closer until her say so.

"Did he get a chance to hurt you?"

All Weiss could do was shake her head. She didn't trust herself to speak, to move. Now she was worried that moving a single inch would mean putting herself in danger again. It was irrational, but then again, so was driving into a parking lot in a red van and trying to kidnap some random pop star. None of it made a shred of sense.

"Good, that’s… that’s good." Yang's voice was as quiet as a whisper. Never did she think she would see the diva like this; hiding away, too scared to speak or even do anything at all. But then again, it was a perfectly understandable response. "Okay if I come closer?"

She was asking before doing anything at all now. As long as it was to show Weiss she was going to help put her at ease, she was willing to do it. Even if it was something as stupid as sitting near her. But Weiss nodded. As Yang shuffled closer, her hands clamped down tighter on her shins and her pedicured toes curled in on themselves, but she never spoke out that Yang shouldn't approach, never stopped her.

Unlike previous times, when she would use another chair if Weiss had taken the sofa, she sat on the sofa with her, shuffling right to one side so as to give her more than enough room there if she needed it, but also the choice to get closer by her own means. This was something she had no idea how to react to, how to properly speak to her about. Was there even a correct method?

"He's not gonna be coming back, okay?" Yang reassured, tilting her head in an attempt to see her eyes. "Last I saw he was being pushed into a cop car, and I'd say he's going away for a while."

There was so much Weiss wanted to say. To scream. To demand of both Yang and the evil creep being taken to the police station. Instead, all she asked was, "Are the security cameras outside in working order?"

That question shocked Yang. After all this, she was just going to go about business as usual? Was that even possible? Nonetheless, she nodded. "They are. And there's gonna be a couple of security guards keeping watch over the place tonight. We're gonna try and keep this out of the public view to avoid any copycats."

"But you got him on tape, didn't you? Got that… that _criminal_ on the tape, didn't you? Tell me they have the tape!" By now, she was shaking slightly, but she was still curled into a tight ball, still had fingernails stabbing into the perfect white skin of her calves.

She froze completely. What was about to come was an answer she knew Weiss would hate, one that filled her enough with dread, let alone what it would do the victim. "We don't know. You two were a fair distance from the bus when it happened, so… they’re gonna have to take a look at it first."

A sound like a dog whining after being struck floated out of the diva as she trembled more and more. "UGH! What good are they?! Wh-what's the point of even having cameras if they... if they don't help me?! This should be over! We should have video evidence of him trying to do this, and now, you and I are going to have to go into court, and testify - and maybe my stupid sister, if she could keep her eyes open long enough to actually notice something happening for once! And this isn't going to be over... this... this isn't going to be o- over!"

"Weiss, Weiss!" Yang called up, this time leaning in herself to put her hands on either of her shoulders to catch her attention. Once sure she had it, she rubbed one reassuringly, tilting her head. She couldn't begin to understand what she was feeling, but was willing to try. "It'll be over before you know it. Nobody will even have to go to court, probably. Everything’s gonna be fine."

The feel of Yang's hands on her shoulders helped ground her, even though the delayed panic was still thriving in her chest. Struggling to thrash its way free. One of her hands came up and fisted hard on Yang's jacket sleeve, pulling her closer.

"You... Yang, I can't believe what you did, I- you were like a superhero, you ran up behind us..." Her voice faded and she shook for a few seconds, staring into her violet eyes, her own finally beginning to fill with tears. "And I've been such a horrible, _awful_ bitch to you since you started, and you still..."

"Doesn't matter," she told her honestly, continuing to stroke one of her shoulders to try and calm her down. She wanted Weiss to be in control of how close she was, not budging from her spot even if she wanted to hug the poor pop princess. "It's my job to protect you. And I nearly failed. If anyone should be sorry, it's me."

Weiss's eyes flew wide with disbelief at this self-effacing reaction of Yang's. "What?! Are you kidding?! You... no one else was around, not a single other person was going to lift a finger to help me - and you were there, you did your job! Who cares if it was a few seconds later than you wished it was?! At most jobs, you get to be up to five minutes late, don't you?!"

"Yeah, when you're arriving, maybe. Not when you're already on duty and are supposed to be escorting your client. I should have told Winter to shove it and stayed by you until you went to bed."

Although that made her remember; sleeping arrangements. There was a small, private bedding area toward the back of the bus which Weiss claimed as her own, but should there ever be an intruder, it would be the first place they'd look. It may make Weiss feel worse.

Patting her shoulder, she asked, "Did you want to go get that bath? I can set up the sofa-bed in here for you to have tonight."

"Huh? The sofa-bed?" That offer startled Weiss. "Set up for... I'm sorry, I must be tired. Why would I sleep here instead of in the back?"

"In case you aren't comfortable alone back there. But you're more than welcome to if you still want to. It's your call." The platinum blonde glanced over her shoulder at her bedchambers. It was one of the few sanctuaries she had left - and even that had been invaded, once. The locks on the bus had already been changed, but would that really keep a determined creep like that photographer out forever?

"I... I don't know," she breathed, her hand resting in the crook of Yang's elbow absent-mindedly. "Where would you sleep if I did? In my bed?"

She shrugged her shoulders, looking over toward her things that she'd stored one side the room. A sleeping bag, clothes, and a few pillows. "I'll sleep on the floor by you. It's only for a few nights, right?"

Suddenly, her heart was hammering for a different reason. Maybe it was childish, but suddenly she had a fleeting vision in the back of her mind, one she had tried to erase entirely: Bible camp. Late nights spent throwing pillows at each other, sneaking out to swim in the lake, swapping Twizzlers for Oreos… all gone. Shattered when her friends all abandoned her over what amounted to splitting theological hairs.

"Can..." The one word made her feel stupid all by itself, without any of the others that were meant to follow. What was she asking? She buried her face in her free hand, rubbing at her moist eyes.

"Hey, don't leave me _yangin'_ here." A really inappropriate pun. Finally, she let a little smile out as she released the woman's shoulders, still trying to keep eye contact with her as best she could. "Come on, what's up?"

"It's dumb."

"Doesn't matter. Try me."

"Can you stay up with me for a while? Talk to me?" Her face crumpled in on itself, and her voice became so uncharacteristically quiet that her words could barely be understood. "If I use the word 'slumber party,' you'll laugh. I don't want to be laughed at… and I don't know why I'm telling you that."

But that only made Yang's eyebrows raise. Even if what she had done just proved that she was worthy of the bodyguard role, in the bus, she didn't seem to mind forgetting it entirely; putting it to one side and treating Weiss as one of her friends instead. One of very few. And she wanted to have a slumber party _with her._ For reasons unknown to Weiss, that warmed her heart to hear more than a lot of things, and made her begin to smile with joy.

"Only if you let me tell you something dumb first."

For a moment, Weiss's eyes lit up as if it were Christmas morning. The answer had been completely unexpected; she was waiting to be ridiculed, or at least told that the idea was juvenile. But she recovered quickly, blinking a few times to speed it along. "What? Go ahead."

"I've, uh… never been to a slumber party before."

"You haven't?!" Her head jerked back in surprise. "But... what about with Ruby? I mean, I know you aren't the same age, but I just assumed..."

She shook her head, running a hand through her bangs nervously again. "Nah. I slept in the other room away from the girls when they had theirs. It's just how it was back then. But when things started to change I was too old really to invite anyone to that."

The pop star looked completely crestfallen. "Oh no! Is it because of your unfortunate wardrobe choices back then? Because Ruby showed me the pictures, it's... that's not any reason to exclude you!"

"She showed you pi-"

Now it was her turn to have the fearful expression in her eyes, which were now as wide as they could be. To anyone else, it would be embarrassing to hear, but Yang’s reaction wasn’t embarrassment. She was _horrified_. "S-she... I… I didn't know s-she'd…"

"Don't worry, they weren't _that_ bad." But when her assurance didn't seem to put a dent in Yang's fear, she scooted forward and cupped her cheek. "Yang? Hey- hey, what is it? What's wrong?"

"Sorry," she began, having to swallow the lump forming in the back of her throat. But to no avail. She still looked terrified as she pushed ahead, "Just _really_ don't like the photos of me back then. I w-wasn't who I am now; I was completely different. And now I… Oh, you don't get it..."

Frowning, Weiss tried to understand where Yang was coming from, but she was right; she didn't get it. So she made her best guess. "Ruby… wasn't supposed to show me that, was she?" Sighing shakily, she pulled Yang in and embraced her hard. "I'm sorry, I don't know what to say. This hasn't been a good night… I'm sorry."

"No, you- Listen, you've got nothing to be sorry about. And neither does Ruby. It’s all good." But when she was pulled in for a hug, she remained there for quite a while, allowing her arms to drape around the diva as she hugged right back, beginning to nuzzle her head against her neck on pure instinct.

The first couple of times, Weiss felt the nuzzling and was able to ignore it. They were doing something neither of them had much recent practice with, after all - especially her. But then eventually she grew aware, and felt her pulse quicken slightly. Lips and nose grazing her neck skin, even this fiercely instead of teasingly on purpose, sent a thrill of butterflies into her stomach.

Why? Why did she always seem to feel this way around Yang lately? It was almost as if she were waiting for something more to happen. But that was preposterous. What more could happen than had already happened that night?

"Thank you," she finally told herself to say, and succeeded. "For saving me, and for staying with me afterward. Best bodyguard ever."

Pulling herself out of her neck again, the blonde smiled softly, finally getting herself out of the hug to look into her eyes again. Both of them had experienced enough fear and done enough growing for today, or so she figured. "You're being nice to me, stop it. That's weird."

Though the diva pursed her lips, it was in a much more bemused way. "Fine! Maybe I will!" But in the end, all she did was stand up from the couch - and nearly stumble from treading on her own shoes. "OOP! Oh, shoot..."

But she had used Yang's shoulder to steady herself, without even questioning where her hand was. Then she sighed, "Very well, if we are going to begin our… ‘slumber party’, I'll go run my bath. Would you mind grabbing me some pyjamas?"

Rolling her eyes and wearing a smug smile again, she got back to her feet, quickly running her hands down her shorts to straighten them back out a little. "Sure, I _guess_ I can make that part of my bodyguard duty. You want a decaf nightcap waiting for you?"

"No thank you, Jeeves," she snorted, rubbing her face on her way to the bathroom. "But… seriously, thank you. I don't know… I don't want to think about what would have..."

Shaking her head, she simply ceased talking as she left. Neither of them knew what else to say. Yang stood numbly for a moment, gazing around at their surroundings. And then right away she got to work, collapsing away the tables and other smaller chairs to make it presentable for the diva's return.

But as she made the perpetrations, she could only keep thinking on it to herself. What if, indeed? What if she was a few minutes longer and ended up having to chase the van on her bike? Or if she never even saw it at all? Of course, she'd be fired for a start, but that was the least of her concerns. After today, she knew for sure that she actually cared for her.

Maybe beyond simple friendship. But that was equally upsetting! _Some guard I am,_ she thought to herself as she pulled out the mattress, entering the sleeping quarters to fetch the plush pillows, her pyjamas and thick quilts. _So far, all you've done is get there too late, and now you're maybe crushing on her? You really are no better than a dude in a suit._

That last thought had her stopping completely. Not again. While Yang wasn't usually one to dwell, those such thoughts were her Achilles heel. What was worse was that Weiss seemed to have no idea – even after seeing pictures of her as a child. She had nowhere to vent it to. Laying out the pyjamas on the bed, she merely sat herself down on the only remaining chair to wait, leaning right back against the wall and staring up at the ceiling.

When Weiss reappeared, it was with a towel draped around her middle, tucked into itself and snugly in place. Seemed she had taken extra care to make sure it wouldn't slip down. "Sorry that took so long," she began as she picked up her pj bottoms. "For some reason, I kept spacing out, and there w..."

But around that time, she noticed Yang was snoring quietly. Slumped over against the pillow, legs dangling off the sofa-bed as if she had been sitting up and slowly fell to her side as she became unable to remain awake, the brute no longer looked so brutish in that state.

"What a fabulous bodyguard you are," she muttered under her breath. Then her conscience got the better of her. "And... I know it sounded like it, but that's not sarcasm. You’re fantastic."

Once the bottoms were in place, she found herself turning her back to Yang as she dropped the towel and picked up the shirt. Why? Obviously, the blonde was fast asleep - and they were both women, anyway. There was no rational reason for her to feel this level of modesty was necessary, and yet she still remained turned away until her silky soft blue shirt was in place around her body.

That did nothing to keep her heart calm as she slid under the sheets next to Yang. Having her nearby didn't calm her down, not exactly... but it did make her feel far safer than if she'd been in the bus alone. Part of her worried about how comfortable Yang might be, but she didn't want to wake her up by moving her.

She did stir, anyway. Weiss braced herself to be yelled at for presuming too much – even if her intentions were innocent, she should have asked! But Yang only muttered, “Wha…?”

"Goodnight, hero," she whispered in the direction of the mass of yellow hair before she rolled over to face the other way. She wouldn't fall asleep for another half an hour, but the fear that refused to entirely vanish felt more tolerable this way. Now that she wasn't alone.


	4. Chapter 4

**=Chapter 4**

Since meeting with the new bodyguard, something never sat right with Winter Schnee. She had heard plenty from her father about the great Yang; he may as well have been kissing her boots from the way he spoke of the brute. He hadn't faulted her once, and for such a shrewd businessman, that seemed suspicious. She'd heard from security about Yang saving Weiss from a knife-wielding madman, which yet again, sounded far too good to be true. A few short weeks into working for Weiss and there was a convenient attempt on her life, just perfect for the brute to save her? On top of that, she was strong, uncommonly beautiful, and capable despite having only one previous job in security. Everything was packaged very neatly to make Yang appear to be a gift from God, which just tripped more and more alarm bells.

Now, she had more solid evidence of deception. A web search had turned up Yang's resume last night, and had started her researching into the early hours of the morning. But it kept leading to a dead end whenever she tried to research anything earlier than two years. Gaping holes like that suggested something wasn’t quite as it seemed.

Satisfied with her results so far, she headed to the bus with her head held high, a smug smirk upon her face as she had the information – or lack of – pulled up on her tablet. The guard posted in front of the bus door nodded to her as he moved aside, and she nodded back. Wasting no time, she used the spare key to unlock the door, swinging it straight open.

"Weiss, there's something I need to-"

But her voice petered out when she got an eyeful of the sight greeting her. Weiss was lying in the sofa bed in the living room, an arm slung over the form of the very girl she had been coming to warn her about. Both were fast asleep - that is, they had been before Winter's intrusion.

"Hmnh?" Weiss managed to say as her eyelids fluttered open. And Winter just stared at her sister, the way she was wrapped around her current suspect. Worse yet, Weiss's hair was a mess and the blonde's seemed no better, and judging by Yang wearing the very same clothes from the previous night, she assumed what most would assume: that something had to have made her exhausted enough to not even get undressed.

"Well," she began, now glaring at them both. "This is _certainly_ professional."

"What?" Sitting up and rubbing her face, it was now revealed that Weiss was, indeed, clothed in fresh pyjamas. Therefore, it was only Yang who hadn't bothered to change. "What's professional? And what are you doing here so early?"

"I didn't realise bodyguards were supposed to offer _that_ service to clients."

Weiss finally noticed how she was positioned, and jerked away immediately. "What th- hey, that is not- she didn't offer me any kind of 'service'! I can't believe you would- Winter, that’s so _crass!"_

"So why aren’t you in your sleeping quarters, hmm? Nevermind, no need to explain. This makes her as bad as any male bodyguard! If this story gets out, father will flip!"

"HEY!" Weiss was shouting now, her voice slightly hoarse from sleep as her cheeks turned rosy. "You will... tell _no one!_ Especially because they will think the wrong thing - like you still do, I can tell! My GOD, you are the _worst!"_

"Then why were you snuggled up so close, Weiss? She's an employee, there's no excuse for her to be in bed with you!" Which reminded her of her tablet, and all the information still present onscreen. "That is, if she still will be after I show you what I found..."

"Show me what, you rude jerk?" she grumbled, finally reaching up to pat her hair a little more into its proper place as she rose from the bed.

"It's more what I _haven't_ found," she elaborated. Waiting for Weiss to at least be standing away from her guard, she finally handed the tablet in her direction. There were a few tabs open, one with said college record, one with her identification, and one with a personal Facebook page. All three had one thing in common: they all began around the same date. "According to all information I could find, up until two years ago, Yang Xiao Long didn't exist."

Squinting down at the tablet, Weiss's sleepy brain finally began to focus on more than just their awkward arrangement in the bed and her sister’s rudeness. Yang had no Facebook two years ago, or college record. This wasn't a big deal necessarily, even if it was a little odd and definitely suspicious.

However, Winter hadn't taken one thing into consideration. And Weiss was going to make sure she didn't forget. "Is this all?"

"Don't you understand what this means?" she asked somewhat sternly, as if it should be obvious. In a way, she wished the blonde bruiser was still awake, so she could answer for this herself. "It means she's hiding something. Something big. Why else would I hit such a dead end if she didn't have anything to hide, Weiss? Normal people don’t spring into existence in their early twenties."

"You come in here at the butt crack of dawn, waving your tablet around over… some missing Facebook statuses?" Her voice started to get louder - and sharper, more focused. "This is what you come to me with about the girl who _SAVED MY LIFE_ last night?! Crazy accusations?!"

"What if she planned that, as well?!" she called right back, keeping a constant eye toward Yang to check she wasn't stirring. "What if she hired him to make herself look better?! To gain your trust?! Innocent people don't have years of their lives missing, Weiss. _All_ her life before two years ago! She's got to be hiding some kind of criminal record!"

Weiss folded her arms over her chest. Her face had gone from blushing, to livid, to completely, entirely cold. "Then what is _your_ motivation, hmm? What possible reason could you have for not keeping your eyes on me, if you were so worried about my bodyguard? Why did you, _my own sister_ , let me almost get kidnapped by a knife-wielding thug?!"

"That's... I... How _dare_ you!" she growled, clenching her hands into fists as she glared down at her sister. The idea of losing Weiss did send a thrill of belated fear through her stomach, but she suppressed it for the moment. "How was I supposed to know you'd wander off when I asked Yang to hand me her resume? You should have waited for her rather than been your usual, oblivious self!"

"And _you_ should have let my bodyguard do her job, get me back to the bus safely, _then_ asked her to provide you with meaningless details that aren't really any of your business!" Still gritting her teeth, she snapped, "Have you at least tried to pull the security footage, see if you can provide the police with the evidence they need? Or is that too much to ask from you?"

"Do you really think I would be that negligent? Of course I have. God, I know you think I hate you, Weiss, but nothing could be further from the truth!" She was getting nowhere. So in the end, she snatched the tablet back from Weiss's hand as she turned to head to the door, but not before leaving one final comment. "Just think about it. If she truly was the godsend you think she is, that father thinks she is… why is she hiding so much of her past?"

As Winter stepped from the trailer, Weiss fumed silently to herself. It was so typical of her sister to feel as if she had the moral high ground, when in all actuality, she literally stood directly in the path of Yang doing her job. And Yang hadn't even brought it up – she had simply stated that she should have been paying better attention to her principal. Didn't rat Winter out for delaying her - and here was Winter, selling Yang for a song. There were definitely two kinds of people in the world, weren't there?

As she sat down on the bed, however, she couldn't help but worry about what Winter said. The Facebook posts were immaterial, but the work history and personal information were more worrying. Why didn't Yang seem to exist until two years ago?

* * *

 

A month into the tour, and Weiss was no closer to answering those questions. She and Yang of course had been close since, going to each rehearsal, dinner, album signing and interview together. But Yang's past was still a mystery. Weiss had never worked up the courage to ask about it, or anything to do with it; she felt like she was prying, and didn’t want to do that to someone she now respected. Even on the brief occasions she spoke with Ruby alone while Yang had vanished to the bathroom, she got nothing.

But there were other ways. As they were sat in the sitting area of the bus yet again on their way to Chicago, Yang was preparing instant coffee for them both. Hers, white and sugared; Weiss's, decaf and creamed. She'd began to get used to making it, since they couldn’t always stop at a Starbucks very easily and still make their deadlines.

One thing that had returned at last, now that she was sure Weiss was okay again was the teasing nature… "So if things go well with this Neptune guy, should I be checking the bus suspension or what? Don’t wanna wear out those shocks."

"You… are _so_ gross!" Weiss flung at her without any real venom as she gently buffed her nails. "I told you, yes, I think he's quite attractive, but I don't have any designs! He's dating Miley, or Selena, or one of those girls, isn't he?"

"Pff, I have no clue. The only celeb's love lives I'm concerned with are yours, for obvious reasons, and Neon Katt's. Calling it now, she's queer as a rainbow."

Pacing back toward her, she held Weiss's mug out to offer, sitting herself opposite at the table to drink her own. But after taking a quick sip, curiosity was beginning to niggle. She never really knew about Weiss's love life, other than pointless rumours in the media. In fact, judging by the feelings she felt on occasion, it was about time she asked.

"So what _is_ your type then?"

"Oh... tall, with blue hair..." When she saw Yang smirking, she rolled her eyes and sighed in disgust. "I'm kidding. I am actually kidding with you right now, you do understand that, right?"

"Suuuuure you are. But you're still dodging the question. Come on, give me some gossip. What kinda people you into? Any evil exes? Don't leave me hanging here."

Now Weiss looked a little less thrilled with the conversation - which was really saying something. "Actually, there haven't been any. At all. I mean, there was a blonde boy in high school from before I made it big… Johnny something. But he turned out to be kind of dopey, and then I couldn't stand him, so we never even went on a first date. That's... that's been it." Before Yang could say anything in response, she blurted out, "And since I became 'THE Weiss', most guys are too intimidated to ask me out, and the ones who do really think they're hot stuff - and that is _not_ a turn on. I like some confidence, but egomaniacs need to stay outside a fifty-foot radius."

Yang laughed, picking up her drink and taking a hefty sip from it once more. Once finished, she swirled the mug in her hand, watching the liquid ripple. "Hey, I know that feeling. Was with a guy like that before, complete and utter douche."

"Yeah?" This seemed the perfect opportunity. If she was careful and didn't force her hand, she might find something out. "What guy was this? I mean, this isn't a one-way interrogation, you know."

"Shoulda known that was coming." Sitting back in her chair, she looked upward at the ceiling for a moment, seeming to debate whether or not to actually tell her or not. Yang certainly was a closed book when it came to her love life, apart from flirting with anyone who offered her a decent look of course. The shrug signalled she was giving in.

"Alright. His name was Scarlet. I dated him my first year in college, he seemed okay. But then he started just being bitchy and whiny, telling me I had to be more of a ‘lady’. In the end I thought 'No, fuck that, fuck you' and left."

"Scarlet? Really?" Weiss filed that away for further investigation - though _not_ in collusion with her sister. Winter had pissed her off too much to actually cooperate with her in her single-minded mission to make Yang out to be an evil mastermind. "Honestly, why do some men think they have the right to just tell a woman who she is and who she can be?! You're way better off without that jerk."

"You're telling me! God, I swear guys are so damn insecure..." For a moment, she paused completely, contemplating whether or not to tell more or not. And to both their surprise, she actually did. "You have _one_ thing about you that's seen as masculine and suddenly you have to look and act like fucking Miss America to equal it out! Yet he'd still cry like a pussy if you tell him his hair looks weird. Stupid pretty boy."

Weiss scoffed aloud at that one. "Really?! He was mad because you can defend yourself? Are you supposed to be a helpless damsel purely so he can feel like more of a man? So typical!"

Yang could only grin further at those comments. Her decision to have told her was paying off completely, and she could freely talk about her past without worrying any longer. "Yeah, tell me about it! Why are they so touchy? It's ridiculous! He was nothing like-"

At least, she thought she could stop worrying. She seemed as though she was about to go on even more, and then stopped in her tracks, backpedalling with a, "Ah, you don't wanna hear about that."

"Sure I do," Weiss half-laughed. It was all she could do to stop herself blurting out anything more - like that she wanted to know everything about Yang, or particularly, things that had happened more than two years ago.

The pause began to get awkward. Yang was only staring at her coffee longer and longer, eyes visibly looking side to side as she seemed deep in thought. Whatever this was seemed to be huge, considering how long it took her to finally come out with it.

"There was one… _person_ who wasn’t like that. Blake." That word seemed more exaggerated than normal, as if she didn't want Weiss to know of the gender. And the name didn't exactly help with that, nor did the story as she continued. "This was before I went to college. When I still looked like that dumb tomboy in those baby pictures. They were genuinely concerned with how I felt, if I was happy, rather than what anyone else thought."

"Blake, huh? Was that your first boyfriend?" Weiss noticed the nervousness, but seemed to be not quite sure about where it came from.

"S-Something like that." Putting her coffee back down, she scratched the top of her head again, nervously running her fingers through her hair. "My first love, if you could call it that… since I still don’t really understand ‘love’, anyway. I'd been with people before and after, but none meant as much as they did. Really special. But they’re ancient history."

Of course, Weiss came from a Christian upbringing, and had very little contact with anything outside that set of values. All her life growing up, she had never knowingly spoken to anyone who wasn't heterosexual – that is, not until she had become a famous singer. Even then, her contact with "those people" had been severely limited. But she was no fool. A suspicion began creeping up her spine, and the bottle of light blue nail polish she had been opening had to remain half-closed.

"Wait… you keep saying 'they.' Why do you keep doing that? Blake's not more than one person, right?"

"Well no, of course they aren't! Just… Ah, I told you you don't wanna know." She needed to change the subject, and quickly. More or less downing the rest of her coffee, despite the steam that was still emitting from it, she quickly asked before Weiss could talk again, "S-So, you've… never even had any crushes or anything?"

"Not really," she said numbly, staring at Yang. "Nobody important." By now, she really did suspect something - and it was something she had suspected way back at the beginning of their working relationship. But it seemed a little callous to fling that accusation at her in the middle of the tour, especially after she had saved her life. So she compromised; asked another question about her past that might be less probing.

"Um… what about before this Blake? You said _they_ weren't your first." She couldn't keep the inflection out of her voice, but winced when she heard it. That was not at all stealthy!

And yet, Yang seemed to appreciate it. At least if Yang suspected but was playing along, it meant she wasn't going to push. As long as she was cautious with her words, she could hide what she needed to, while still answering Weiss’s questions.

"My first... was actually _very_ long ago. I was friends with people in the year above me, somehow I ended up getting drunk at the age of fifteen and randomly getting with a… a _dude_. I'll bet that goes against all your Christian stuff, right?"

"Well, technically yes," Weiss snorted. "But I mean, I've had a little alcohol before, even though I can't buy any myself. Not that I make a habit of it - if you're planning on telling any tabloids." Again, she heard the emphasis on "dude" in Yang's sentence. Wasn't a young girl making out with a dude at a party perfectly normal? Why would Yang put things that way if it wasn't?

Yang could only nervously chuckle to herself, yet again continuing to scratch her head. It was all she could seem to do now that the focus was on her and her alone. Even if Weiss was no closer to knowing the truth, that didn't mean she wasn't going to get to a point when she could guess.

But Weiss _was_ getting closer to the truth a little at a time. Picking up the bottle of nail polish again, she paused and said, "Oh, did you want me to do your nails? I mean, I know that's not really part of your job, or my job, but..."

"Huh?" Finally, her hand left her hair as she glanced at her nails. Embarrassingly, they were pretty ragged, and definitely had not been painted in quite some time. Weiss couldn’t know it, but she never much bothered with that before. Now that she had the chance, she grinned in delight, shuffling closer. "Sure!"

"Okay!" The sheer excitement in Yang's face caught her so off guard that she almost forgot the entire reason she had offered in the first place. Digging through the makeup bag she had dedicated entirely to polishes, she almost dropped the red-orange hue she produced, catching it as it came close to smashing on the floor. "Heh, whoops!"

"Damn bumpy roads, huh?" Yang laughed, soon holding her hand outward toward Weiss so she could do her work. "Chop chop, missus! Else I'll be back to pampering you."

Tutting at herself in disgust, Weiss took the hand in one of hers and easily opened the bottle with her free hand by itself. Managing to set the bottle down, she drew out the cap and began dabbing at Yang's thumbnail.

"How are you going to ‘pamper’ me, anyway?" she asked as she painted. "Unless you count making coffee - and I told you that you don't have to do that. I can make it myself."

"Well, taking you to your shows is pampering, right? Checking on you to make sure you're unharmed?" She gave as much as she got, wiggling her eyebrows. "Or maybe Neptune could do all that."

Suddenly, the brush was sliding up to Yang's knuckle. _"Hey!_ Oh, look what you made me do - will you leave me alone about Neptune?! He's just a… a business associate, a peer in the musical community!"

Yang was continually laughing, struggling not to pull her hand back towards herself. "One that you like! Come on, you expect me _not_ to tease you?"

"Not realistically, no!" Grumbling under her breath, she set about painting the rest of the nails - leaving the extra polish for Yang to clean up on her own later, as punishment. "And doing your job isn't 'pampering', it's your job. So what else did you mean?"

"Come on, making coffee counts as pampering since that's not in my job description. Same with putting clothes on your bed, running you a bath so it's ready for you after your shows..." She drew her hand slowly back to give her the other one, blowing on the nails to help them dry.

"Right, and those are all things I ask you to do. Oh wait, they aren’t." Rolling her eyes, she set to work on the second hand. "But… I guess they count as pampering. I was just thinking more about mud masks and back massages. Spa things, I guess. Sorry."

"You really want _me_ to massage you? Seriously?" She looked up toward Weiss to try and see her reaction, but of course, she was too focused on her work to look up and give one. The idea of massaging the diva was… appealing, to say the least. To have her completely under her control, from mere movements of her hands. Why did she now want to do that? "Surely you wouldn't want the big dumb lesbian having her hands all over you, though."

"Maybe I would." _Too far!_ Weiss was trying to be subtle about this! Laughing a second later as she moved on to the next finger, she tried to smooth things over by saying, "Don't be gross, it's just a massage. I'd return the favour, of course."

"So now you want _your_ hands on the dumb lesbian? That's not dubious at all." Watching Weiss complete the process was oddly enchanting. She was so focused, yet still remained the epitome of grace and beauty. Even calm despite Yang's teasing.

Then Weiss did something Yang could not have expected; she put the brush back in the bottle, picked Yang's hand up with both of hers, and blew on the nails to dry them. Her eyes were half-closed as her lips pursed and she forced air out past them, the currents caressing every inch of Yang's hand.

"I repeat," she said, looking up at Yang through her heavy-lidded eyes. "Sometimes… a massage is just a massage."

Yang couldn't look away. Was Weiss doing that on purpose? Giving her a sultry 'bedroom eyes' look while holding her hand in hers? For anyone else it would be such a basic thing to do, so why was it driving Yang insane? Why was she imagining that same expression on a Weiss that was laid down across the sofa, beckoning her over? Her cheeks were redder than ever, an unwanted side effect to such thoughts.

Though Weiss felt like she _should_ be surprised to see Yang blushing slightly, that it should upset or disgust her, it only made her stomach do backflips. Out of hatred… or out of interest?

‘ _What?!’_ she internally screamed at herself. There was no possibility she was interested in Yang in that respect – it was impossible! That would go against everything she believed, in general and about herself specifically! On the other hand, the palm up against her own was soft but strong, and felt perfect there. Her other fingers began trailing up to Yang's wrist, caressing it lightly, testing both how it felt to herself and how Yang would react. She wanted to say it was just to continue her test in regards to the brute's sexuality, but she could no longer be sure of that.

The more Weiss's hands moved up her arm, the more Yang could feel her heart beginning to race. The blush was enough of a giveaway, but now Yang was beginning to feel her breath hitch up. Why was such a small thing beginning to torment her this way? Making her whole body feel hot, making heat rush to her-

Suddenly she drew her hand away, finding herself crossing her legs. To try and distract herself, she quickly drew her hand up to her mouth, blowing at the nails herself to dry them. "Y-yeah? Well… maybe another time, then. Like when you actually need it."

"What if I need it now?" Weiss heard herself saying, as if listening to someone else speaking – a recording that had been digitally manipulated to sound like her voice. The blush on Yang's face had to match her own, even though she really couldn't be sure _why_ she was blushing in the first place. "What would you say… if I actually asked for a massage? Requested it? Hypothetically."

Yang had crossed her arms, pinching at them just to double check she was still awake and not dreaming. Why was Weiss suddenly so determined to wind her up like this? Wasn't she someone of firm Christian belief? This was an extremely dangerous position for her to be in with her employer – a celebrity. There had to be a way out of this impossible trap!

But lucky for her, an excuse not to answer at all came in the form of a vibration in her pocket. Her phone. The head of security was trying to contact her. Immediately she pulled it to her ear, trying not to seem at all flustered when she responded, "H-hello?"

"Xiao Long," the gruff voice began. It was a member of the security team. "The crowd here is even larger than expected; you'll have to get ready to be on the move when you arrive. What's your ETA?"

"Oh, right, of course. Expected that with Neptune being at this one. It's... Um..."

The distraction was more than welcome, as it gave her an excuse to even walk away from Weiss and forward into the driver's cabin, out of her view. As much as she didn't want to leave things on the awkward side, it would only get even worse if she stayed and fumbled on her words. Managing to look over to the sat-nav from just behind the driver's seat, she could spot the time.

"About an hour? Give or take fifteen minutes."

"Copy that. We'll have our men in place in forty-five. See you there."

Then the line went dead. As soon as it did, Yang sighed to herself again. This situation was just going to get worse and worse. Weiss wasn't the type to suddenly give up; even over the handful of weeks of working with her, that much was obvious. She was going to continue to question, broach the subject and other related topics until the answer became clear. An answer which Yang herself didn't even approve of, or fully understand quite yet.

That her feelings for THE Weiss were becoming very unprofessional.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all are ready~!

**=Chapter 5**

"Do you call this water? It's from Walmart!"

Weiss's diva mode was in full swing as she paced down the hall toward her dressing room. Even though Neptune was usually the headlining act, during this joint tour, they had agreed to alternate who performed first and who performed last. She still had quite a lot of time left because it was Neptune would be taking the stage first that night.

"S-sorry, ma'am, I'll get you something else!" one of the many flustered backstage staff called, quickly running past Yang to fetch more. The bodyguard had not left her side since the incident that first night, always waiting at the side of the stage to escort her from it to her dressing room and the general staff room.

But nothing more was said since. Yang had made excuses in the van, disappearing to the bathroom, pretending to be focusing on her phone to avoid questioning, and even now she simply stuck to following Weiss rather than asking for commands. Everyone else could worry about Weiss’s demands; seeing her in full diva mode again was beginning to grate her nerves, which definitely helped squelch those new feelings she didn’t want to exist.

"We ready to do some magic?" said diva asked the green-haired makeup artist when they approached.

"Sure!" she said pleasantly - until she spotted Yang. Then she cleared her throat and managed to say in as steady a voice as she could, "M-miss Xiao Long."

“Hey.” Each time Yang saw her before, it meant plenty of witty banter, obnoxiously obvious flirting. The majority of which had Weiss groaning in annoyance and rolling her eyes. But today, it was nothing but that single grunted word. Behind the shades, one couldn't tell her expression at all, but her body language gave enough of it away; she just wanted to get out of there.

"Oh… kay then," the girl said as another makeup artist opened the door for Weiss, who strolled through without a backward glance.

"We can take our time tonight, girls," Weiss told them as she sat down. Then she looked cautiously at Yang, who seemed to have been so distant since their nail-painting debacle. Maybe she had become so annoyed with her "advances" that she didn't even want to talk to her anymore. "You… can guard me inside or outside the room. Your choice."

For a moment, there was silence. Those damn shades made it impossible to read what she was thinking or feeling. But for Yang, that was a good thing. "Neptune's on for half an hour, right? I'm gonna go get some water. Security's tight so you'll be safe till I get back, just don’t go anywhere until I do."

"Oh… alright, that's fine," she said, trying to hide her disappointment. It wasn't a very good job, so she immediately turned and flung herself into the chair so that they could begin prepping her for the show. There wasn't much else she could do; Yang had every right to drink water, and to avoid her after the spectacle she had made of herself. All that was left was for her to get ready to perform.

 _'Screw a glass of water, I need a damn cold shower,’_ Yang thought to herself  as she paced down the various hallways toward the main backstage, unable to get the thoughts out of her mind again. Everything was conflicted. On one hand, she liked Weiss, and in more than a professional way. She wanted to muster up the courage to ask her out for a coffee properly, to have the chance to take her out for dinners, meals, cuddle up to her with a film at night. Maybe even…

On the other hand, Weiss a famous star, and apparently some big Christian. From how she reacted the very first time, when she thought Yang may have been gay, she suspected asking her out would have made things awkward. And possibly even lead to the loss of her job. Furthermore, she had told herself she couldn't think about girls like that anymore; she'd dated men, she liked the company of men! And now her feelings for Weiss were going to ruin everything. Was all her hard work for naught?

Such blasts from the past weren't what she was expecting tonight. And nor did she expect more as she headed to the water fountain.

"…is my favourite song," came a voice that seemed familiar. Too familiar – hauntingly, frighteningly so. "But sometimes I feel like 'Cooler Than Water' could take over in the top spot. Ohhh, I just don't know! I can't believe I'm back here, that this is really happening!"

The instant the cup touched her lips, her eyebrows raised; and she drew it away. _’Wait… was that- no. Could it be…?’_

Looking around, she saw the group that were stood together, made up of three security staff members, a tall, blonde, messy-haired boy wearing a headset and holding a clipboard – presumably in charge of part of the stage or lighting. They were all listening to a familiar black-haired girl in purple tights and a mainly black outfit, apart from the white blouse. In the middle of Chicago, backstage at two of the biggest pop artist's shows, she had inexplicably run into…

_"Blake?!"_

The woman in question looked around until she spotted the bodyguard, and still looked baffled. "Yes?" But a second later her eyebrows began to knit, and she leaned in, scrutinizing her face. "Wait a minute… is… Ying, is that _you?!"_

Usually, if anyone called that name out to her, she would have either glared in their direction, or simply punched them right away as punishment. But with Blake, it was only a small wince in the middle of her smile. "Yeah! Well… It's _Yang_ now. But holy shit, it's been years!"

"OH MY GOD!" Glancing around at the others, Blake covered her mouth briefly then leaned up toward her ear and said in a quieter tone, "Sorry - you hadn't decided on a name when we… well, anyway." As long as she was this close, she took the opportunity to throw her arms around the blonde and squeeze her tightly. "Wow, I… I really have missed you, it’s been so long…"

Finding herself doing the exact same thing back, Yang closed her eyes contently, one hand even clutching very slightly at her back for their embrace. But as soon as those words were uttered, she began to let Blake go. Again.

"I-I know… I missed you too. I'm really sorry I never emailed or anything, I just… I didn't know if you'd wanna see me."

"Yeah. Yeah, I don't think I was ready that first year or so, but now I'm…" By the time she pulled back, there was a tear at the corner of the brunette's hazel eye. "And God, it's so good to see you looking… _so good_."

A lot was unsaid in that statement, but she couldn't be any more specific; the words wouldn't come. And for Yang, it was more than enough. She could feel her own eyes beginning to well up as she stood up straight, looking down at her own form. Which, thanks to the fashion choice Weiss had picked out again, showed it off very well.

"Thanks. It's been such a weird and long road, but… I think I'm pretty happy with how I am. Thanks to you and Dad, I mean. I really-"

"Way to ditch us mid conversation!" the messy-haired boy called, making his way to Blake's side as he tucked his clipboard underneath his arm. "Geeze, you're like a shadow, I swear! One minute you're next to me, then suddenly you're-" But then he noticed the other blonde, and the smugness vanished. "Oh, sorry, you seem busy. Want me to leave and go back with the guys?"

"Don't be silly," Blake laughed, catching hold of his arm by locking hers around it. She turned back toward Yang and said, "This is Sun Wukong, he works here – got me backstage to meet Neptune, can you believe this?!"

"Whoa, rolling out my full name. Makes me seem so official." But immediately he began to laugh, holding a hand out toward Yang for her to shake. "Yeah, I just handle the lighting, but they got it covered right now. Anyway! To whom do I owe the pleasure?"

"Oh, I'm Yang. Nice to meet you, Sun." She smiled, taking the hand and giving a firm handshake before returning her hand to her hip. "I’m in sorta the same boat, except I'm with Weiss – her bodyguard."

Both Blake and Sun's mouths dropped open. They looked at each other, then back at Yang. After a few rapid blinks of her dark eyes, Blake managed to stammer, "Wow! You- I mean, wow, really?! That's so cool! I mean, I'm here to see Neptune, but I was really psyched when I learned THE Weiss was going to be joining him for the show – I can't believe you're here, that we're both back here!"

"Small world, right?” Yang laughed. “Gotta say, it's completely crazy to see you here after… what, four years?"

But the way Yang was talking caught Sun's attention. Yet again, he was looking back and forth between them both, blinking rapidly to try and ease his confusion. "Hold on, you two already knew each other?"

"Yeah, of course we do!" When Sun still looked confused and expectant of further explanation, she leaned over and - quietly enough that nobody besides the three of them could overhear - whispered, "This is _Ying_. From… you know."

It seemed to do nothing to ease his confusion at first. "Ying? As in, your ex, Ying? I thought he was the guy who was gonna have… the…"

Then suddenly the needle dropped, and his eyebrows were raised ridiculously high, and he struggled to keep his mouth from dropping to the floor again. The eyes were beginning to look her form up and down continuously. "Holy fucking- I mean, wow! When Blake told me about you, she said you'd probably look pretty different from those old pics, but… _daaaaaamn."_

All of which was making Yang roll her eyes, and cock her hips to the other side. Suddenly the shyness she had in the evening was disappearing, and she was back to her confident self. "What, were you expecting some dude in a cheap Halloween costume? ‘Daaaaaamn’ is right."

Blake flushed slightly as she insisted, "That wasn't how I described you! But… the only picture I had was from that last time we hung out. You know, at the arcade? And you looked cute then, but now…" Her hand gestured to Yang's entire body. "Girl, you are on FIRE!"

"Well, duh – I burn brightest of all! At least, that's what I tell myself when I look in the mirror now. Like, look at this! I mean, part of it's dieting and part of it's surgery but, I just feel so… _me_." By this point, she was more talking to Blake then she was to Sun. After all, she had more past with her and more to possibly catch up with.

And Sun could sense it, that much was obvious when he nodded, trying to sound nonchalant. "Well, I'll let you two catch up, or whatever. Want me to let you know when Neptune's back here, babe?"

For some reason, that surprised Yang. Even if it had been years since she had last seen Blake, and she had clung to Sun’s arm when introducing him, she somehow didn't expect her to be with anyone else. "Babe?"

"Yeah, of course - thanks!" As Sun waved and began walking away, she turned back with her eyes downcast. "Babe. He's… I know what you're going to say, that obviously I have a 'type' and that's Asian men with their hair dyed blonde. But I swear to you – absolutely _swear_ that's not why we hooked up."

"Huh? Oh, no, I wasn't thinking that! I mean, I can see why. He seems like a dork," she commented as she watched Sun rejoin the group of men, immediately patting one on the back and laughing as if he was there the whole time. “And _that’s_ your type.”  But when she looked back to Blake, she wore a slightly uneasy smile. "I just… I don't know, guess I didn't expect to see you again, or expect you to be with anyone. And I _know_ that sounds ridiculous, trust me."

"That is ridiculous," Blake snorted shyly. "But… then again, if you had a guy on your arm, I'd probably be just as thrown off. So you're not any worse of a person than me, I guess." Then she touched Yang on the forearm softly. "Are… God, you look fantastic. You have all the surgeries yet? Upstairs and downstairs?" Her eyes clamped shut. "M-maybe I don't have any right to ask that anymore."

Becoming just as nervous herself, Yang scratched the back of her head, trying to laugh it off. It wasn't really working at all. "I think outta anybody, you have the most right to ask. I mean, I… considered the bottom half. But I kinda figured, I'm happy with how I look now with just the top, and I'd really rather not throw more money at something I'm indifferent about. God knows I spent enough already!"

Nodding nervously, Blake rubbed her arm absentmindedly. "But what about… not you. You're beautiful! I'm just worried about _other_ people. You know, not… not being okay with you how you are now, and causing trouble. This is really unfair for me to say this stuff, you've obviously given it a lot of thought and I shouldn't be bringing it up – not after we just got back in contact. I'm sorry."

Looking to her for a short moment, she wrapped an arm around her back, bringing her in for a side-hug with a contented smile. "Seriously, you're fine. I know you're just worried about me." And as she just stared outward blankly, she found herself clutching Blake a little closer. Like years apart had just vanished entirely. She could be entirely open, after months of hiding so much of her past.

"There've been flings, a couple of boyfriends, but overall, nothing _really_ big." And then her thoughts went back to what caused her to walk off in the first place. "But there's a first time for everything, I suppose."

"Yeah?" Blake sighed as her arm tightened around Yang's back. Her expression was clearing; it was so much easier to talk when the problem wasn't between the two of them. "That sounds like it's not a hypothetical problem."

Tensing her muscles a little more Yang licked her lips, taking a deep breath in. "Maybe there's… a someone."

Then the raven-haired girl pulled back to arch her eyebrows at Yang. "Ooooh? Details, details! Is he a co-worker? Somebody else in the business?"

Yang could only chuckle to herself. It seemed ridiculous to suddenly get so shy about these things, especially with how close the two of them were in the past. But she still couldn't keep eye contact, nor stop the blush. Best to get the first hurdle out of the way.

"Well… it's a _she_."

"It's a…"

Then Blake fell silent. She looked a lot less comfortable, but she also wasn't drawing away from the hug. It was a reasonable middle ground. But Yang could sense her discomfort, immediately drawing herself away from the hug so as not to make things worse. Maybe this was a bad idea – and it was only going to get worse. "She's Christian, too… and probably straight as an arrow."

"She- oh, so the problem is… and it's not…" Blake fidgeted, her fingers playing with each other in front of her stomach. "Sorry, I didn't know you were a lesbian. Or bi, or whatever – I'm sorry, wow, I sound like an asshole!"

"No no, you- okay, so I know you weren't expecting that." Yang was also nervously twitching, scratching the top of her head. Either way, it was still a more comfortable situation than what was waiting back at the dressing room. Even if it meant digging up the past. "Blake… God, I'm sorry. Really. I know you and me ended things because we thought I was straight. If anything, I'm the only asshole here because I couldn’t figure out my shit."

"Yeah. Yeah, I… I don't think we could have stayed together even if we did know. But I wanted to." Glancing over her shoulder, and noting that Sun was even further away now than he had been the last time she looked, she took a step closer again and laid both hands on Yang's biceps. "I'm pretty content with my life now, but back then, I was so in love with you! And part of me will always love you, y’know? So… so if things had been different, if you'd known more, or I'd known more…" Both of her eyes squeezed shut, and a tear finally did fall. "Ying, I wanted to _marry_ you. This is stupid to tell you now, because I think you knew it. Why did everything have to be so hard?"

Yet again, the tears were beginning to well up in her own eyes, and she found herself hugging Blake once more, burrowing her head into her shoulder. Once assured that Sun wasn't looking in their direction, she drew back to kiss her cheek, stroking her back gently.

"God, I wanted the same thing. B-but, I think…" She clutched at Blake's back again, trying impossibly to bring her closer. "I think it would have ruined us. All the shit I've gone through, the surgeries, my mood swings. This probably sounds dumb, but I'd rather have you happy with Sun than to have… done something stupid while not thinking about it because I was all hopped up on hormones, a-and hurt you, or lost you forever."

Nodding, Blake clutched at her back powerfully for a few seconds as she shook from the sheer immensity of the relationship they had left behind. Then she whispered, "You were my first love, first kiss… first lots of things. Missed you." Then she took a deep breath, let it out slowly, and drew back with a watery smile. "And I'm not letting go of you again, I hope you know. Give me your number right the fuck now!"

Finally offering an emotional smile of her own, she wiped a few stray tears from her cheeks as she got her phone out of her pocket. "Yeah, of course! Hey, and add me on Facebook, too; I wanna see embarrassing pictures of you again, ya dork."

Blake did indeed whip out her phone and they exchanged all relevant information, chattering back and forth. When most of it was done and Yang started to put her phone away, she stopped her.

"Wait, hold on a second! Show me this girl you're crushing on so hard!"

"Oh boy…" Yang was nervously laughing again. Now that the initial ghosts of the past had been dealt with, she was free to laugh and toy with Blake like they were best friends again.

And why not? Blake really _was_ her first ever friend as Yang, the first to help her take steps in being true to herself. No matter how it happened, she was happy to have her back in her life again; talking to Blake gave her strength. That was something she didn’t want to let go.

* * *

 

Yang never gave away the identity of her crush, but explained enough of the situation they were left in. And Blake offered enough advice so she could head back to the dressing room with confidence.

Neptune’s hour onstage was just about up by now, but there would still be some setup between the two sets. Plenty of time for her to make things right. Holding her breath, she held the door handle a moment, running as many scenarios through her head as she could to try and prepare herself. But in the end, she threw it wide before she was fully ready; best to get it over with.

She found Weiss was completely alone. All the makeup girls, any press or fans who had been allowed back, they were gone by now. Just the diva herself, sitting on the couch in the back and looking at her phone with an expression of pure loneliness.

"I'm fine for food," she said numbly as she glanced up - then froze. "O-oh, it's you. Sorry, I figured you were catering."

"H-hey." Shutting the door behind her, she leant back against it. Yet again, the atmosphere had become tense, that much was obvious as Yang ran her hand through her bangs, and avoided eye contact. "Sorry," she began, taking a few steps further into the room toward her. "Sorry I've been so awkward and weird since the bus."

"No, no, I think…" Gulping, Weiss let out a long, slow sigh. "I think that's my fault. I was picking up on a… well, some kind of vibe from you. And I might be wrong about it, and I probably am! But I have this _need_ to get to the bottom of things. So I was pushing, and you acted really freaked out that I was, so… anyway." Scooting over, she patted the couch next to her. "Come here for a minute. Let's just… you know, relax."

"But you- okay." Deciding not to dig a deeper hole for herself, she nodded, doing just as was asked as she plopped herself down by Weiss's side. It was only then that she could obviously see how exhausted she was from the performance. "Oh, did you want a quick nap or something?"

"No time," Weiss snorted, picking up a bottle of water - no longer Walmart brand. "If I fall asleep, I'd probably have to redo my hair and everything – and then go do my act."

"Oh yeah, right. I already forgot." But from seeing how Weiss was struggling to sit herself still, she could tell she was still rather anxious, still needed to calm down. Maybe this was the perfect time to clear the air. "So… How about that massage now?"

Again, a scoff of derision. Then the diva turned around to look at Yang square in the eye. "You'd really give me a massage? Not just teasing me the way you've been doing?” No immediate response. “It's not part of your job or anything."

Instead of saying anymore, she shuffled herself around, placing her hands onto Weiss's shoulders to turn her back around. This time, rather than seeming uncomfortable, she was grinning. "Nah, because I know this time, you _neeeeeeed_ it."

That word was exaggerated as she pushed her thumbs into the tense shoulder blades, rotating them around to loosen each one.

"What exactly is thahhAAAAAHhhhh! Oh GOD, that's good!"

Within seconds, Weiss was putty in Yang's hands, head hanging down limply as the fingers did their work on her aching muscles. It was like a little slice of heaven! And Yang kept going, smiling to herself as she continued to push her thumbs into the tense areas. Moving slightly further inward, she began to press that bit harder, not quite enough to cause pain, but just to intensify what she was doing.

"Dang, you really _do_ need this."

All Weiss could reply with at first was a weak nod as she allowed the thumbs to dig into her tissue as deep as they could go, loosening up her body and unmaking her. She almost couldn't even remember why she'd ever protested in the first place… something about their working relationship? Who knows? Her hands pressed in against the couch cushion in front of her for support as she alternately relaxed completely and sat up ramrod straight.

"Okay…. So I think that's your shoulders done…" Drawing her hands away, the next stage was her back. Once Weiss was relaxed in her position, she pressed her hands on either side of her spine, pressing her thumbs into the skin.

Seeing the diva unwind was somehow both amusing and… thrilling. She'd seen Weiss sleeping before, just as she'd seen her livid and excited. This was a blissful in between, a state of relaxation being made by her fingers. Could anyone else make her unwind this much? Or was she the first?

"Ohhh _yeah_ ," Weiss sighed, shoulders rolling slightly as she maintained her straight posture for Yang to work on the lower muscles. Absentmindedly, one of her hands slid up to grip the back of her own head, almost as if trying to anchor herself in the moment that way. "How… are you so good at this? Like, what the hell?"

"Hidden talent I guess." She smirked, working further down each time. Thank goodness the heiress wasn't facing her, else she would’ve seen the ever-growing blush forming on Yang's face. But by that point, she no longer cared. She was so focused on loosening Weiss's muscles that she could barely feel the redness on her cheeks. Even the shades couldn't hide that.

And then her hands were on her hips, thumbs easing into the back muscles again. It was on the route, but holding her hands there seemed a lot more intimate than anything thus far.

Around the time she felt the hands on her hips is when Weiss's groans of satisfaction began to sound… less platonic. And the hips moved, shifting forward and backward slightly in time with Yang's ministrations, eager for more. At some point, one of her stiletto high heels even worked its way free and clattered to the floor, despite the ankle strap.

"Yang, you're so good!" she found herself bleating out. "I… I didn't even know I needed this, and you're giving it to me, and it's PERFECT!"

It was doing nothing to help the blush forming on Yang’s cheeks. Such words, such a moan, everything – even if she didn’t know how her words were sounding, they were definitely sounding like something else! The longer it went on, the more she felt the heat beginning to grow in her, especially down below…

Quickly reacting to stop such a thing becoming obvious, she shifted both legs onto the seat, sitting on her knees as she worked at the area even more. But the position bared a different problem. Now her face was somewhat closer to Weiss's shoulder. Close enough that Weiss could feel her breath against the skin of her neck.

"Oooh…" After a few more seconds of kneading, Weiss swallowed hard and managed to say, "That feels… interesting… what are you doing?"

She turned and found herself face to face with Yang, and saw the blush in her cheeks, the closeness of her pink lips. Now she knew the source of that light, teasing wind upon her exposed neck and didn't know what to make of it. Another swallow later, and she thought she had something to ask.

"Is there… w-what happens next?" she breathed against the bodyguard's mouth.

This close up, Weiss could see Yang's eyes – that she was looking directly into hers, struggling to keep her breathing calm instead of shaking the way it was. Eyes that were darting downward toward her lips on occasion, since she wasn't moving away.

In fact… were they moving closer? If there had been more space, there might never have been a shift in the atmosphere. Weiss would probably have sat back, apologised for flustering Yang and assured her that it was not her intention this time. But there wasn't more space. Yang's lips were already within a hair's breadth of her own, and she didn't have the willpower or mental preparation to avoid them.

So she chose the only option left open to her besides fleeing: she acted. Despite everything Weiss had been thinking, everything Yang had been telling herself, the Christian-turned-pop singer and the enigmatic bodyguard were kissing, lips kneading against one another delicately, slowly. Yang felt her eyes beginning to close, just as Weiss's did. It was insane, and horrifying… and so perfect.

The need for more was overwhelming. To express such a need, Yang managed to trap Weiss's bottom lip between hers, softly scratching her teeth over the top of it. The shiver that shot through the diva was enough they both felt it, but she did not draw away, did not push Yang off the couch and berate her for taking so many liberties. Because it had been her who took the liberty - Weiss herself, against all of her better judgment and supposed morals, had kissed a _girl_ of her own free will.

As if on autopilot, one of her pale hands raised up to slide over Yang's neck and lay against it gently as she moved her mouth faster, tasting Yang. Maybe if she were lucky, she'd feel the teeth against her bottom lip again - even though that single thought was almost enough to send her screaming from the room. But she _did_ feel it again. That and more. She felt one of Yang's hands adjusting Weiss's position, pulling her up against her body. She felt the other hand dive into her hair, keeping her close as she kissed deeper, as two pairs of lips slid over each other. Now that she was sure Weiss was giving just as much as she was receiving, she sped up also, kissing deeper, parting her lips that bit more to get more of Weiss.

When Weiss felt Yang's tongue poking into her mouth, she did let out a quiet squeak of surprise but it was evidently not enough to put her off exploring it with her own. Hesitantly, they made contact, and against all odds, it wasn't the most horrendous feeling she'd ever experienced. This was French-kissing, wasn't it?! One of the many things that had been on her "never want to try that" list. So much for well-laid plans.

As the heat began to build between them, she felt a droplet of sweat roll down from her temple. Yang had so much body heat… and it was making her own grow, so much that she was glad her stage outfit was skimpy. Then she began to feel so aware of how very little she was wearing; would Yang touch her more places than her bare neck and back? What if those lips moved away from her mouth?!

For now, they didn't. But that didn't mean she wasn't exploring further. At times when their mouths parted, Yang gasped, only to recapture them again. The hand on her hip slid lower, caressing her thigh and bringing it up against her. And when they trailed back up again, they were bringing her skirt with it. All the while, she kept adjusting her position again and again, keeping her legs firmly together as she sat with her. But as the heat between them was getting worse, it was becoming impossible to stop what would be visible. And soon.

Of course, it wasn't only Yang who was beginning to feel a lot more heat in a region where heat was rarely felt. The more Yang’s hands played across her thighs and teased her waist, the more her narrow hips began to squirm back and forth slightly, becoming more and more restless. Her own hand sought out Yang's waist, sliding over her spandex shorts idly, testing how she felt about putting it there.

Not too badly, evidently, because the hand was still there a minute later when there was a loud, sharp knock at the door.

Whatever wave of lust had swept across them was suddenly broken. Yang drew back from their kiss, face still incredibly close to Weiss's as she breathed heavily, eyes looking straight to the doors direction. She didn't pull away, she didn't push Weiss off her; she simply waited.

"Miss Schnee, are you in there?" A voice sounded through. One of the directors. When neither of them responded, she called up again. "Neptune finished ahead of schedule, so you're on in five!"

"Shoot," Weiss breathed under her breath, turning her head toward the door and pressing a hand to her mouth. An instant later, her eyes flicked back to Yang - and she was gaping as if completely stunned. Everything that just happened was slowly sinking in at the most inopportune moment.

"COMING!" Weiss shouted out, her hand tightening on Yang's hip. "Just… just give us a second!" She visibly winced the instant she finished speaking. ‘Us’, was it now?

"Aaalright! The crowd are pretty restless out there!" With that, it sounded like the director left.

Leaving the two startled women in each other's arms, both gasping for breath, both an obvious mess. And Yang in particular in a state during which she couldn't move from her spot. She couldn't stop muttering swear words under her own breath, adjusting her position over and over.

"We… we'd better go." Blinking, she slowly withdrew her hands from Yang, too dazed to quite notice her discomfort. Passing a hand over her hair to try and pat it back into place, she stood – and immediately fell backward into Yang's arms again. _"Aah!"_

"OOFF!" Right away, Yang held her arms out to try and catch her, anything to stop her landing on her lap. That would ruin everything!

But was it already ruined? They kissed. And it was no grandma-kiss – this was a true, deep, intimate affair. If things weren't interrupted, they would have more than likely gone beyond that initial contact, especially with the situation between Yang's legs. Now that they snapped back to reality before that could happen, would they be able to return to it? Or even back to friends again? Either way, as Yang helped the diva back to her feet and yet again tried to cross her legs, she could barely think how she could survive the here and now!

"Oh, I'm so stupid!" Weiss growled at herself – immediately sitting down on one of Yang's knees. She let out a little awkward moan at the light pressure in such a sensitive region, but after taking a couple of shallow breaths she pushed past that to focus on something else. "How did I already forget, was I trying to break my neck?!"

"I…. Well… How were you supposed to know Neptune would finish early?" Yang immediately joined her. They couldn't bring up what had just happened, not when there was no time left. Not even enough to straighten either of their hair to deflect suspicion. But that could always be the job, so she hoped.

But one thing she couldn't hide at all was the obvious bump in her shorts, one she was currently attempting to keep pressed down with her hand. "D-damnit…"

"Stupid shoe," Weiss finally sighed when she sat back, having put it back on. Then her brow wrinkled when she looked over her shoulder at Yang. "What? Oh… no, I meant my heel came off earlier, that's why I fell when I… tried to stand up. Are you alright?"

"O-oh, right. Yeah I'm fine; just…" How on earth could she distract Weiss?! She couldn't stand up like this, nor take her to the stage. Things were going to be just as awkward as she left it before, and it was all her fault!

Acting on a sudden plan, as daft as it was, she held her hands over her stomach, leaning forward slightly. Deliberately straining her voice, she groaned, "O-ow! S-shit, stomach cramps…"

Frowning, Weiss pressed her hand into the back of Yang's forearm. "Oh no, is it your… lady time?" The terminology might have been archaic, but it at least clearly conveyed that Weiss hadn't figured anything out yet. "God, I'm sorry… after you take me to the stage you should double back for some Midol."

Once again as part of her act, Yang pretended to try and to make herself sit up, only to keel over again. "S-Shit, shit… It must be something I ate b-but… I'm sorry…"

"Okay, it's okay! You just… stay here, I'll get a couple of guards to go with me. Hope you feel better." Then she leaned forward and left a light kiss on her forehead - and an instant later, drew back and shook herself. "What am I DOING?!" Without any further elaboration, she turned and fled the dressing room at top speed.

And once she had fled, Yang was left alone with her thoughts and her feelings. That was close, _far_ too close for her to call. Leaning back into the chair now that she was free to do so, she stared down at the visible evidence that would ruin everything.

"How can I be this stupid?" she demanded, smacking her own forehead in shame. It hadn't gone down at all, and would have been glaringly obvious if she did decide to accompany Weiss. This couldn't go on, not if she and Weiss really were going to pick up where they left off in the future. There was only one option:

"I gotta tell her… and soon."


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops, I meant to get this one up a couple of days ago. But this gives me an opportunity to talk about Volume 5 since it just ended today! [WARNING: Spoilers for volume 5 in the notes at the end of this chapter. If you aren't a First member please do not read until Tuesday!]

**=Chapter 6**

The crowd had turned into cheering lunatics once Weiss finished playing the encore number that the crowd had begged her to do. She and Neptune had done a duet before they both left the stage, but the cheering had been so loud she couldn't resist going back out to perform one of her lesser-known B-sides. Now thoroughly exhausted, she finally left the stage, satisfied that she had given a command performance but needing time to think.

Throughout the entire concert, it had taken all of her professionalism and willpower to focus on singing. To focus on her dance moves, and the energy of the crowd. Instead of other things. Instead of her bodyguard, and how everything had changed because of one - albeit _very thorough_ \- massage. But what else could she do? It was too late to say "Whoops, just kidding" and sweep everything under the rug. As soon as they got back to the bus, they were probably going to have to talk everything through. It was a nightmare looming on the horizon.

And waiting by the doorway to the backstage area was Yang, holding a cup of water in either hand. One for her, and one for the exhausted Weiss. She'd been there for well over ten minutes, but it felt more like ten hours. In all that time, her mind had been running through every possible scenario on how this would play out. Weiss would either reject her, making things terribly awkward between them, possibly even leading to the need for a new bodyguard… or they would continue where they left off. And even that led to dangerous possibilities, such as Weiss finding out her secret, outing her to everyone and running off screaming.

But she had no more time to think. She nervously smiled, holding a cup outward toward her.

"Thank you," Weiss said meekly. She looked entirely beside herself, dazed and unsure. "Was I alright out there? You didn't notice any… you know, mess-ups in my performance, did you?"

Of course she was asking because she was unsure of herself in more areas than just her singing at that moment. “Nah, you were great as always,” she managed to mutter, taking a quick sip of water to try and quell her nerves again. But already she could feel the blush returning.

"Okay, good," Weiss sighed after downing her own water. Singing was thirsty work. Taking a deep breath in, Weiss allowed herself to smile as Yang lead her further toward the dressing room. "After… well, I wasn't entirely at the top of my game today. So I was worried." Clearing her throat, she shot Yang an inquisitive look as she turned the cup in her hands gently. She didn’t feel quite ready to go in there. "Are you feeling better now?"

At first, Yang tilted her head, looking extremely confused. And then she remembered, her eyebrows raising in surprise. "Oh! Right! The cramps! Y-Yeah… I got some pain killers, I'm good now. S-Sorry about that."

 _Good job hiding your nerves, idiot,_ she thought to herself, continuing to pace further into the room. Now it was rather packed compared to when they were there earlier, filled with staff and others with VIP Access cards. She didn't exactly know where she was leading Weiss, but something was telling her she'd want to be in the middle of the room. Either way, she felt just as uneasy leaving Weiss alone as she did being by her side.

But as it turned out, she wouldn’t have been alone, anyway. Neptune was stood chatting with a few of the backstage crew from earlier, along with the same blonde-haired boy – and _Blake_. She got her wish in meeting the singer, who was running his hand through his blue hair and acting smooth.

"Yeah, I just needed to bounce a little earlier because my throat was feeling a little off. Wanted to rest the old cords before the encore. I want every performance to be the top of my game, you know? They're paying for perfection, after all."

"No, I totally get it," Blake was replying with an extremely flustered laugh. "Everyone should respect your process!"

"It does separate the men from the boys," Weiss said in a would-be casual tone. It was much the same voice she used when talking to management of studios. "You were quite excellent out there, of course. We should have partnered up for a tour years ago."

Looking back around, Neptune right away offered a cheeky grin. "Well well! If it isn't my plus one! Thought we knocked ‘em dead with our duet but they really couldn't get enough of you, eh?"

And right behind Weiss, Yang joined the group. Slotting in between her and Blake, she gave a quick tap on the black-haired woman's shoulder, just enough to let it be known she was back.

"Oh, Yi- YANG!" Blake quickly corrected herself. "Cool, I was hoping we'd see you again before you and Weiss had to hit the road!" Then she was looking slightly over Yang's shoulder at the white-haired pop star.

"Yeah, glad I caught you again! How's Neptune been while Weiss was still out there?" Even as Blake was trying to at least get a look at Weiss, Yang was trying to avoid looking in her direction. She didn’t want any little glance to be taken the wrong way.

All the while, Neptune was continuing to keep his smug attitude toward the diva, laughing obnoxiously loud to one of her comments. He was obviously trying, and failing from the looks of it, to flirt. "You're hilarious, girl! Damn, kinda wish we could do a few more shows together, maybe a collab. Could be a hit!"

"Maybe we could," Weiss said, obviously still turning on her professional charm. As Yang could tell from her now-extensive contact with her employer, she was only being polite now; her "crush" was rapidly waning the more contact she had with his abrasive personality. "Set something up with our mutual managers."

"Hey, anything to spend more time with you, Snow Angel," he said with a wink, still trying to break into the diva's harsh professional shell it seemed. Which although she wouldn't say anything, was making Yang roll her eyes, and fold her arms in annoyance.

"Yang," Blake finally hissed more directly. "Can… I mean, you don't have to, but as long as Weiss is already here…"

Yang immediately stepped back, allowing her to get between herself and Neptune. "Sorry, there ya go."

"No, I…" Blake blushed and fidgeted. She'd been trying to encourage Yang to introduce her to Weiss now that she’d already met Neptune, but could tell her old friend wasn't quite at the top of her game today. But it turned out not to be necessary.

"Hello," Weiss said at last, taking the initiative when she noticed the raven-haired girl was lingering and glancing at her quite often. "Whom do I have the pleasure?"

Blinking as her hand was shaken, she breathed, "O-oh! I’m Blake, I… well, I had backstage pass for Neptune; I'm so surprised you're here, too!"

’ _Shit…’_ That was Yang's first thought as soon as Blake did introduce herself. Weiss knew that name; she'd told her all about Blake, leaving out everything except her gender. If that kiss they exchanged in the changing room didn't make it obvious enough, seeing Blake in the flesh herself surely would. Without another word, she quickly walked off toward the minifridge, despite having a nearly-full cup.

Leaving her with the raven-haired woman, and her blond boyfriend, who'd paced over and stood by her side. "Day full of surprises, huh, Blake? I mean there's Neptune, and Weiss, and your old pal, Yang. Maybe Neon Katt will pop out of the closet or something!”

"Oh, you know Yang? Wait…" The gears turned, the penny dropped into place. With a gasp that would have been considered theatrical in most circles, Weiss pointed a finger at her and stepped back with a look of surprise on her face. _"BLAKE!!!"_

The girl's hazel eyes blinked. "Umm… yes, that's… my name. Is that not okay? I could change it!"

"You know Yang! A Blake who knows Yang!"

"I…" Glancing at Sun, she shrugged as if to wordlessly ask, _"What should I do?!"_

"Hey, your guess is as good as mine!" Sun glanced between them both again and again, having no clue what to even say about the situation but starting to figure out Weiss knew more than she should have. "Did Yang mention Blake before, or something? You must really get along with your bodyguards if you talk about the past that much."

"She did," Weiss said as she finally calmed down. Noticing that all three of them were just openly staring at her - and that one of the three was NEPTUNE, of all people - she cleared her throat and said, "Sorry, I just… was _not_ expecting to meet you in person, after Yang was just talking about you!"

"Oh," Blake said with a slight blush. "What did she… tell you about me?"

"Everything."

"Yo, am I missing out on drama here?" But immediately, Neptune was hit in his side by his blonde friend, just enough to make him shut up immediately. Both were silent, having no idea what to say at all. After all, everything may not mean _everything_ , not if Weiss didn't know about Ying.

Weiss glanced at Neptune. He was a bystander in this - and would have no trouble telling the press if they asked too many questions. Maybe he wouldn't do it to be malicious, but he also would have no way of knowing that he shouldn't spread such rumours around.

"Nope!" Weiss laughed nervously, making a grand gesture with one hand. "It's just so very ironic that I should meet _her_ right after she told me! I mean, what are the odds?!"

"True," Blake laughed, finally beginning to feel less freaked out by everything. Even if the way Weiss stressed that pronoun was a little weird. "Wow, I really thought you were mad at me for some reason for a second there!"

"Not mad! Why would I be mad? I mean, you're Blake! And you're here! It's just really weird, as if you somehow overheard our conversation and decided to show up!" Still laughing like a loon, she glanced around at the other three and saw they were still regarding her as slightly insane, so she cleared her throat and shook Blake's hand again, and much more vigorously than was probably normal. "Well, it's certainly good to meet you!"

"You said that," Blake giggled, seemingly having decided that Weiss was just a gregarious person. "But I guess you didn't know who I was last time. And it’s great meeting you, too!"

At long last, Yang had begun to make her way back, holding a fresh cup of water, which she nervously took a drink from once again. If she avoided the conversation forever, Weiss would never forgive her, and neither would Blake. Once again, she took her place to the side of the both of them, laughing to cover her anxiety. One thing was assured now: Weiss now knew that Yang wasn’t as new to the idea of dating women as Weiss was. That would be a whole other level of fun later.

"H-Hey, so… what’d I miss?"

"Not much," Weiss said immediately, turning a too-bright smile on her bodyguard. "Just chatting to your _old friend_ , Blake! I feel silly, though - I had the impression before that she was a guy! Why would I have thought that?"

As Yang was struggling to come up with an answer, Blake said in a slightly less comfortable voice, "Ohhhh. Well… I think I know why. You didn’t know about before…”

Clenching her teeth together, Yang tried her best to make sure Weiss wasn't looking. Once sure of that fact, she quickly held her hand to her throat, trying to gesture for Blake to cut that part of the conversation. Where she and Blake had left things previously, she had only revealed that the woman she was crushing on had no clue she was trans. Not that Weiss didn't – because she hadn’t revealed the crush _was_ Weiss. Though Blake would probably have little trouble figuring it out now.

"Before what?" Weiss was asking as Blake glanced between her and Yang. Her eyebrows drew in slightly, confused.

Blake did her best to cover. "B-before. I mean, it was a long, _long_ time ago! That we were friends! We went our separate ways, and it's such a shame, you know?"

The diva folded her arms, trying to figure out if she was being put on or if the girl was just awkward. "Ah, yes. And that is a shame! The three of us will have to get breakfast together tomorrow before we leave town!" Then she turned the full force of a pointed stare upon Yang. "WON'T we?"

As soon as she turned, Yang's arms returned to her sides, and she looked down with a nervous grin again. Already sweat was visible on her brow, just as there was a growing blush forming. What a nightmare! Why did she have to bring Blake up earlier that day?! "Y-Yeah, totally! T-That would be awesome."

"Sounds fantastic!" Blake managed to say, eyes wide and shining with pure excitement. "You really want to go have eggs and bacon with a nobody like me?"

"You aren't 'nobody' - you're my bodyguard's _old friend!_ And as you said, you two fell out of touch, didn't you? Seems a real shame to let this opportunity slip through your fingers! Bring your friend there along – the more the merrier!"

Any idiot could tell Blake and Sun were completely enraptured by this invitation. However, Yang had a sneaking suspicion that it would not be all fun and games. The way Weiss kept stressing “old friend” meant there would be a reckoning soon.

* * *

 

The diva’s strides did not slow until she was opening the door to her bus and flinging herself inside. After last time, she couldn't afford to let herself forget to sweep the bus with her own eyes, to make sure no one was hiding in the bathroom or a closet. Once she and Yang were both satisfied, she paced back into the living room, the bodyguard still on her heels.

"Alright. Explain."

Running a shaky hand through her bangs, Yang contemplated her words for a moment. It appeared she was barely keeping herself together; her breath was ragged, sweat clung to her brow, and she could feel her arms quivering in fear. There was nowhere to hide anymore; Weiss was about to find out everything.

"Okay," she began, pulling out one of the chairs for her to lean against to keep her legs from buckling under her. "S-So… B-Blake… and anyone before that, um, they’ve all been…"

"You _are_ a lesbian," Weiss stated flatly. "I mean, I started figuring that out for sure when I felt your tongue in my mouth." Then she seemed to have heard what she herself was saying and sank down into the next nearest chair with her face in her hands. "God… what did I do?!"

"It's not that simple…" Already, she could feel her voice beginning to quiver, and feel her eyes beginning to well up with tears. Her worst nightmare was coming true before her, that Weiss regretted what they both did, that she'd probably hate her. "But what I don't understand is… you… you kissed me, you didn't pull away."

"I know!" After a few deep breaths, she looked up, her mascara running down her cheeks. She looked more forlorn than Yang had ever seen her. "That's what I mean: what did _I_ do? You're already some big homosexual – obviously, since you dated Blake-who-turned-out-to-be-a-girl! But… but when you tried to kiss me, or even got close enough that a kiss might happen, I should have been disgusted, should have punched you in the boob! And I didn't, so… so what does that mean?"

"I don't know," she began instead, pulling her chair out even more and sitting herself down reasonably close to Weiss. Yang couldn't bring herself to correct her anymore, nor could she bring herself to fight any of what Weiss was saying. They were both a mess, both still confused about what exactly happened in that dressing room. But there was only one thing Yang was sure of. Only one thing she could possibly comment on. "But I liked it."

"Of _course_ you did!" Weiss burst out, standing up and pacing back and forth in the living room. "I'm WEISS! Do you know how many little fanboys would kill to have been in your shoes earlier this evening?" After a few breaths, she then went on, "And… fangirls. I do know I have some girl fans who like me in a more-than-admiration sense; I tried not to think about it, since it’s still weird to me, but they're out there. I'm not stupid."

Then she stopped and stared down at Yang, shouting, "Say something! Tell me how to get rid of these feelings - or how to use them properly, or something! I'm so completely lost, this is something I never had to think about before!"

"Then don't!!!" she shouted right back, clenching her fists down either side of her as she remained seated in the chair. Her cheeks were utterly red, her hair an unwelcome mess, tears running down her face. But not even allowing for herself to catch her breath again, she continued, "J-Just do what I've done for the past… forever! Don't think about it! Just do what you want, Weiss, and… and stop giving a shit what people will think!"

All the energy seemed to go out of the little diva's stance as she watched Yang, as she listened to how upset she was, saw that she was as affected by their situation, if not more. And she kept looking at her lips, always her lips…

Her legs were stepping forward, around Yang's, and she was suddenly straddling her and lowering herself down onto her lap. It was warm and firm underneath the soft skin and fabric of her clothes. Immediately, her heart began thundering in her throat, hands shaking as she slowly raised them to rest against Yang's shoulders.

And with such a simple action, Yang's mind was a blur. Weiss was in the worst possible position, straddling her lap, pushed up right against her body. She could feel her against the very area she didn't want Weiss to discover at all, especially when it was a ticking time bomb. Yet she never once moved. She remained in that chair as she was, letting out a shaky gasp when hands held onto her shoulders. Her eyes remained locked onto the orbs of blue, and so Weiss could see her at last, she reached up to pull her shades off, tossing them on the table by their side.

Now that their gazes were completely locked in each other, Weiss shrugged one shoulder, biting her lip and looking much more shy than she ever had before. For a few seconds, she remained like that, but when Yang didn't push her further, she whispered, "I'm… not sure what else to do. I don't even know if what I've done so far is okay, or… if I’m…"

It was up to Yang to make the decision. No matter what she picked, it would both be brave, and stupid. No matter what happened, she'd have to talk about it, have to explain it in some depth to Weiss. It might as well be the option they both clearly wanted.

So she moved her own hand to the back of Weiss's hair, pulling her in as she pressed their lips against one another for the second time that evening. This time, she felt a more urgent need, felt a far greater desire. She kept kneading her lips against the heiress's over and over again, not wanting to stop.

With a frustrated and grateful whine, Weiss returned the kiss even harder than before, arms sliding up and hanging down Yang's back, clutching at her from either side of the chairback. She wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing, but she knew the thing was worth doing right. After a few seconds, she began to take more risks, to open her mouth to Yang again - on her own this time, remembering how exciting and strange it had been before. Arched her back under Yang's touch, moaned into their mouths. Encouraged in all ways she could encourage.

They were both on autopilot, gasping whenever their mouths parted, re-joining them with little delay. Yang accepted the open mouth right away, poking her tongue into the diva’s to caress and touch while she pulled her in further. She remembered where they were last time - that her hand was on Weiss's thigh, brushing down, then upward, bringing what little layer of skirt there was with it. And she repeated that process, gradually stroking the side of her leg more and more.

But the longer it was happening, the more she could feel the heat building below. Too far gone for her to control now. And as she felt Weiss push her hips forward against her, it was far too much for her to stop. This really was a countdown to destruction now.

Initially, the feeling of a hand on her thigh - where one had never, ever gone before - was definitely enough of a distraction for the virginal young singer. Her breathing grew shakier as she squirmed against Yang's body, and when she felt fingers grazing her hindquarters she finally did let out a sharper squeak and pulled back from the kiss, blinking down at Yang in mild surprise.

"You… really don't… hold anything back, do you?"

"You should know that… from how I work by now," she panted, raising one of her eyebrows so she could finally smile. The first sign of confidence in hours. Firmly grasping one of the cheeks of her backside, she whispered, "I don't _half-ass_ anything."

Another shriek, this one much more pronounced and less involuntary. "Y-Yang Xiao Long! Your… what are you doing to me?!" But when she shifted her hips with the fingers still wrapped around her cheek, the next noise out of her mouth was a moan of such desire that she couldn't even manage to present a decent front of being offended. Cheeks now flaming red, she breathed, "You… know exactly what you're doing, I guess! Oh _wow_ , it feels so…"

And each time Weiss squirmed forward, each time her body raked itself all over her warmth below, Yang found herself getting closer to a more obvious result. How she wished that clothes weren't keeping them apart! But at the same time… sensing Weiss would be able to feel her soon, she shakily began, "Weiss, I… I gotta tell you something… and it’s pretty important."

"Wh… huh?" Weiss had been just about to press her lips to Yang's again, but she did refrain when she heard the words. Even though she couldn't keep her body from thrusting forward, feeling the odd sensation that the grip on her rump seemed to create. Just that simple difference in one half of her backside grinding against the other was so unique!

And there was something else. Something warm and rigid pressing against the front of herself, very close to her burning centre. Her arousal-fevered mind couldn't puzzle out what it might mean, so in that moment she simply found herself grateful that it was there for her to rub up against.

"Weiss, p-please…" But she barely had the strength to stop her. Every time she felt Weiss grinding her centre up against the front of her shorts, she found herself moaning out once again. And it wouldn't stop. Each time she pulled against it, she felt a quiver down her spine, a shaky moan growing ever stronger. She needed this. As much as she needed to tell Weiss beforehand, she wanted to give in immediately.

All Weiss did was grind harder when she heard Yang's plea, misunderstanding the nature of it. She thought she wanted more, to feel more of each other's bodies creating this delicious friction. That was something she could completely understand - because she craved it, too. Not even fully understanding why, or what her body was doing or asking for, she obliged, feeling hotness flash outward from the muscle pressing into her sensitive crescent through the thin layers of fabric. Two layers - that's all that separated Weiss from…

From what? Part of her knew there was something unusual about this, but she was too far gone to stop, to puzzle it out. Yang felt perfect in her arms, and she aimed to enjoy every last second of her there. To drink her in until whatever was about to happen within her spilled over and exploded.

That was until a minute or two later, when Yang felt one particular quiver that felt too strong to ignore. It was undeniably good, and she had no doubt that if she allowed Weiss to continue any longer, she would find herself at her end. Just as Weiss would, as well. In a last ditch attempt to break her out of her spell before that end, before she'd immediately regret it, she let go of her backside, moving her hands onto either of her thighs to stop her thrusting forward again, breath ragged when she finally found her voice again.

_"Stop!"_

A final squeak sounded from Weiss's throat, and she swayed visibly when sitting still. She had been so _close!_ To what, she wasn't really sure; she'd never done anything even remotely like that before in her entire life! But she passed a hand over her face and tried to focus.

"I'm… what was… what were we just doing?"

Yang just kept a hold of her hips, keeping her from thrusting forward again, or from falling back, panting deeply to regain her breath. She very nearly would have finished herself; she could still feel the knots in her stomach, and the pulsing between her thighs. But she looked downward still, to what was between them. The subject of her protest: the large, rigid bulge that Weiss was grinding against.

And finally, Weiss's eyes followed her gaze down. And she saw it. Not just felt it, but SAW it. Licking her lips, she tried to think through all the possibilities. They weren't anything she had expected - none of them were. But a few of them would freak her out less than the others.

"S-so…" Clearing her throat so her voice wouldn't be so squeaky, she tried again. "I don't… suppose you're wearing one of those toys they sell at Spencer's in your shorts, are you?"

Slowly, Yang shook her head. Once more, she could feel the tears beginning to well up in her eyes. This was going to be the moment that would ruin all her good fortune. Might as well get it over with.

"Sorry, but it's real." She sounded so weak now, pathetic in comparison to her normal self, like she was trying to stop herself completely breaking. "A-and it always has been. Since Scarlet, since Blake… since I was born. One of the only things about my body I haven’t changed yet."

"Oh."

In contrast to her seemingly aloof response, Weiss’s body began to tremble slightly. Both the unreleased orgasm and her fear at what she was walking into were to blame. Unable to help herself, she moved her hand inward and, just to be sure, pressed at it lightly with her index finger. Staring at her movements, Yang’s lower lip quivered yet again. Their emotions were mirrored, both arousal and fear. Now Weiss knew the truth, and she hadn't run away screaming just yet. Her hands were _exploring_.

"You don't… mind?"

Taking a deep breath, she began to stroke her through the shorts. The length responded - twitched. The nature of the spandex made it visible in a way that it wouldn't be if her shorts were made of more rugged material, like denim. Her hand jerked away, but still she did not throw herself out of Yang's lap, did not run from the room.

"I… don't know. I’ve just never seen one before in my entire life." Blue eyes looking up into Yang's, imploring her to understand what she meant despite her inadequate wording, she whispered, "And I always… y-you know, with Caitlyn and Laverne, I just thought they were degenerates or something, like my father said, but… you've been all woman until now! And I wasn't attracted to you the way I was to Neptune! So… so what am I supposed to think?"

"’Until now’?" Her eyebrows came together, expression of worry and fear completely obvious. As if her world were about to completely crumble apart.

"Well…" Weiss sensed she had made a misstep, but didn't know what it had been. "You know. You do have a…" Her chin nodded down toward Yang's lap. But she saw the alarm in Yang's eyes so she followed up quietly, "I'm sorry, it feels like I'm offending you somehow - but you never told me about this! How am I supposed to know what to say?!"

"Well, it’s not like I could introduce myself to everyone with 'Hi, I'm Yang, I have a dick,' right?" Weiss jumped as if someone had pinched her. It had much the same effect; she was shocked into realizing the reality of Yang's situation. Anyone else responding this way would have earned themselves a stern tongue-lashing, an immediate education on where they had gone wrong – that might or might not end with a punch to the gut, depending on how they handled the conversation.

But she couldn't with Weiss. She simply couldn't bring herself to raise her voice, or say anything too harshly. Shakily breathing to try and calm herself again, held her gaze as she went on, "I know I _should_ have told you before this happened. Either when I was hired, or after that f-first kiss, I guess. But I couldn't. I j-just thought… maybe just once, someone could like me for who I am. But that wasn’t right, a-and when I did try to tell you… it was too late."

The poor, bewildered diva knew she wanted to ask a lot of questions. However, her mouth opened and, as had been happening so much lately in relation to Yang, something completely useless came out first.

"How big are you?" Immediately after, her eyes squeezed shut and her hands tightened on Yang's hips. "I m-mean… that's not okay to ask, is it? God, Weiss you idiot, what is _wrong_ with you?!"

In the midst of their point of breaking, such a question didn't make Yang cry. It didn't make her yell. Beyond everything Weiss expected, she was actually chuckling, and even erupting into laughter. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, but at least she wasn’t fully upset. Out of all the reactions she had ever heard, that was one of the more positive ones. Even if Weiss didn't think so. But once she had calmed herself back down enough, she placed a hand on Weiss's thigh, patting softly.

"Maybe you’ll find out. If you wanted to keep going, I mean."

Owlish eyes gazed down at the hand on her thigh. Her brain didn't seem to be functioning anymore. They flicked between the hand and the bulge in Yang's shorts, entirely beside herself. However… the bulge was so close to her own heated centre, and she swallowed hard when she realized that, tensing the muscles in her thighs involuntarily. "I don’t know… this can't be happening…" Her hand drifted toward the shorts again, but she hesitated. "Can I…?"

Finally feeling brave enough, Yang was able to smile again, shuffling herself back further onto the chair again so the position was better and nodding. Again, she touched - but this time, all of her fingers wrapped around the girth of it through the layers of fabric. It was most definitely real; she had some misgivings until now, worried that this was an elaborate practical joke. But the warmth and the way it didn't feel like a hunk of plastic dispelled those vain hopes.

"Oh wow… you're so…"

Yang's eyes eased half closed again. Weiss was so gently holding her, being so delicate as she moved her hand over it. She remembered in the past when one fling had grasped it, even tried to tug to test if it was real. Needless to say, that _earned_ them a punch in the mouth. But Weiss was doing quite well for a novice. And now she was sure that she would be one of the better ones. One like Blake. And with that thought in mind, she relaxed herself fully, focusing on only how good things felt.

When she glanced up at Yang's face, saw her leaning back and enjoying the action, she held perfectly still for a long second as she tried to fight down her fear. This wasn't easy for her; it could be seen plain as day in the way her mouth was set in a thin line, the way her eyes kept squeezing shut to steel herself to continue. But, at last, she did. Her hand glided all the way up until her fingertips were pressing against the head, testing the difference there.

"Hmmmmhh," she sighed in contentment. Even through shorts, the contact against her head wasn't something to be frowned at. Feeling herself starting to grin, she couldn't help but shift her hips back and forth on the chair again, squirming from the left over pleasure.

After a few minutes of this, Weiss began to feel more brave. Not more at ease, not that she fully understood the situation, but that she was ready to explore. That was her state of mind when her other hand raised up and began to slide the waistband of Yang's shorts downward.

She allowed it. The material slid downward, exposing her. She even aided in it, shifting herself on the chair so that it could be pulled down behind, and down her legs. She still wasn't fully revealed yet; her underwear hid the object in question itself. Lace underwear, of all things. But through the thin material and the gaps in its opacity, the shape of her was far more noticeable. She was average in length; firm in hardness. Perhaps her shaft was thicker than most boys, but its authenticity couldn't be denied.

"So big," Weiss breathed numbly as she teased it through the lace again. "But… your waist, and your hips… you’re so _girly._ "

Now that the shorts were momentarily out of the way, the free hand glided up the contour of Yang's hips and waist, stopping to unbutton her jacket when it got in her way. Now she was petting her abs as well, testing the feeling of soft skin, of her very real curves. With one hand giving her delicate touches, the other giving attention to her length, Yang was in complete bliss. She was so used to any and all flings being rough affairs, that she would have to fight for some level of dominance or be wrestled into the pillows. But this was a welcome change.

Attempting to somehow return the favour, she allowed her hands to stroke Weiss's hips, stroking up and down over her clothing to try and stimulate her right back. One hand trailed by the bottom of her top, pulling lightly at the bottom of it. A simple way to request if she could take it off.

A request that she didn't notice; she was far too focused on Yang's anatomy. "You're so much more womanly than I am, I'd kill to have your figure, these tits, and it's… impossible, because then there's…" Her hand squeezed the arousal instead of finishing her sentence. "Can I… can I see?"

"You can… but…" There was a way they could both get what they wanted. It depended if she was brave enough, if Weiss was as well. Pressing her arms into her back, she pulled her inward toward her for a moment, finally asking, "Won’t we be more comfortable in the bed?"

"In the…" All the colour drained from Weiss's face, and she drew back to gape down at her bodyguard's violet eyes. "Oh my God, I… you want t-to- YANG! I can't! I've never- what kind of a girl do you take me for?!"

Yet again, any confidence she had just vanished. Even with a famous pop star sat on her lap, caressing her sex through her underwear, she felt like the smallest, most pathetic thing on earth. And there wasn't any way she could recover from that without a little mental effort. "Shit, I thought- I didn't mean…"

"You thought I'd just hop into bed with you?!" Then, all at once, she seemed to realize she was sitting on a girl's lap - and that there was a rigid cock in between them. She pushed to a standing position, nearly falling in the process but managing to catch herself on the back of the other chair. "You're a… whatever this is, and I was trying to understand, to… I mean, maybe it's weird that I wanted to explore with my hands, maybe I shouldn't have, but I'm n-not ready to go _that_ far!"

"No, wait- you didn’t have to! I just thought… with you touching me, it seemed like… oh _fuck!"_

Now her breathing was becoming rapid for different reasons. Shame, guilt, fear. It didn't even matter if Weiss had said some slightly offensive things; she had ruined everything in one simple phrase. She'd probably lost her job, as well. Within a few seconds she was back on her feet and sprinting toward the nearest safe place: the bathroom. She didn't even stop to give Weiss an explanation, slamming the door shut behind her and locking it firmly.

That the diva had leapt back in fear didn't register with Yang as she sprinted through the bus. She had assumed Yang was about to charge her. Why? Because she had a male organ? Yes. If she were really honest with herself, that had been why she found herself suddenly terrified that Yang was going to pounce on her. Of course, she felt incredibly silly a moment later when she saw she was simply trying to hide herself away in the bathroom. The little squeaked "WAIT!" had done no good.

All this time, Yang had been a man? Well… that wasn't accurate, she knew, but it was at least in one way; she had an honest-to-goodness dick. Maybe she was using improper terminology, because anyone could see that Yang was no "man", but it didn't change the fact that she had gone from thinking she was straight, to thinking she was gay… to having no idea how to classify things now. Her sheltered brain really had no way to interpret everything she was learning.

The room spun slightly, and she had to get herself a bottle of water to calm her nerves. She was tempted to get something else from a security guard, something stronger, but she wasn't sure that would be wise. For now, she simply sat in a chair, wondering how the night could have gone so terribly wrong.

But maybe there was still time to salvage the situation. Weiss had some mental gymnastics to execute, but she wanted to try. For Yang. After all, if she couldn’t figure out a way around this one little problem, it really would spell doom for the two of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there are a lot of conflicting opinions about V5, and the complaints are basically similar to the ones from V4: not enough action, too much talking, small plot holes. But I think overall, this series shows as much promise and hope as it did in the first volume. It's not perfect, but... I mean, if you're a RWBY fan who can look back at V1 and say that was, you're delusional. We love it despite its flaws - sometimes because of them - and that's what counts the most.
> 
> Everything that happened this season script-wise was great. A lot of tropes I was worried they'd aim for were avoided, and others were handled with greater finesse than another show might. First canon (explicitly) LGBT character introduced! Raven has real feelings! Yang's PTSD is not being ignored! Weiss being the good friend I always knew she was! Blake pulling her shit together! And Ruby... reading comics! 
> 
> Anyway, enough fangirling. Feel free to comment on that as well as this chapter. Otherwise, see you in the next one!


	7. Chapter 7

**=Chapter 7**

Ten or so minutes later, the rattled diva finally collected herself and walked over to the bathroom door, rapping on it sharply with one knuckle. “Um… Yang?”

When she heard a knock at the door, she jumped in fright, then suddenly froze completely. All the sobs and cries had silenced. Even if she should have expected it, it still came as a surprise. Yang hadn't shifted. In all that time, she had sat on the closed lid of the toilet seat, practically crying her heart out, face buried in her hands to muffle the loud sobs and shaky gasps. No doubt Weiss would have heard. The walls were certainly not soundproof in a mere traveller’s bus.

"Honestly, how dare you sit in there crying!" It was the stupidest way she could have responded to the sound of sobs. She felt horrible. However, what she ended up continuing with was, "I was the one who was surprised! S-so… you shouldn’t be upset!"

Funnily enough, it did nothing to ease the situation. It only forced forth more sobs as Yang keeled back over, crying into her hands yet again, teeth gritting together to somehow try and mask the sobs. Not that it did much.

"Stop that right now, Yang Xiao Long!" Then she sighed, running her hand down her face. "You're… I've never known anybody like you, so I'm sorry if I said anything stupid, okay? But you have to admit, this is _not_ something I should have been expecting!"

"I-I know…" The voice barely sounded like Yang's anymore. Just like a high pitched mess. She was barely even able to force it out. However, it did make her try and stop herself from crying into her hands even further, as she leant back to sit upright.

"Then why are you crying?! I didn't hurt you or anything! All I said was that I didn't want to sleep with you right this very minute!"

Continuing to breathe, Yang was attempting to get any thoughts together she could. Nothing hurt, physically. Nor did Weiss say anything with malicious intent. The shame wasn't in Weiss, it was in Yang herself. She'd made an assumption where she shouldn't have done, she was the one that tore any possible chance of things developing up by rushing. It was all her fault.

"G-god, I'm not c-crying because of that…" She tried to show a bit more of herself in her plea this time, a bit more of the Yang Weiss was used to. "T-that fedora ‘friendzone’ bullshit. Seriously, I- that’s not what this is about."

"Well, how am I supposed to know what's wrong?! Clearly, I didn't know you as well as I thought!" Grunting, she turned and slammed her back against the bathroom door, using it to support her weight. "Aren't you required to disclose this on your job application or something?"

Staring down at the ground, she sniffed again, brushing the wrist of her glove up against her nose to be rid of any of the residue and taking shaky breaths again. "S-sometimes," she admitted, continuing to stare out into space. "If I'm supposed to be getting more surgery or counselling and gotta leave work. But I don't anymore."

"Counselling, huh?" Little by little, Weiss's voice was beginning to sound less irate and more reasonable. "So… how long ago did you start sex-changing, or whatever?"

Taking a few more deep breaths, Yang was also beginning to calm down. Weiss really did know nothing about these issues. Nothing at all – not even the right terminology! Perhaps it was ignorance, but also parenting. But she hadn't snapped; not properly. Judging by her voice tone changing, she was willing to learn.

"I started to tell people how I felt about myself when I was eighteen," she began, allowing tears to fall on their own means as she recollected her memories.

"But that was only a couple of years ago, wasn't it?" Then she paused. "Or…. okay, I do have to ask you a question. My sister has been pestering me - as she does - about some gaps in your work history, and your school history. Does… this have anything to do with that?"

That was definitely an annoying concept. But she had other things to address in the moment. "If she's looking with my real name, yeah. I changed my name officially two years ago on my twenty-first birthday, so anything before that's under my birthname." Taking a deep breath, she uttered, "Which is _Ying_ Xiao Long."

A moment passed as Weiss took that in. Eighteen-year-old Yang was _five_ years ago, way further back than the information Winter found. Finally, instead of laughing at her or getting upset again, she just let out a snort. "Ying instead of Yang. Really? That's it? If I had a chance to change my name, you can bet I'd do more than replace one letter."

"It's surprising what one letter can do," she said rather plainly in response. But leaning back again and staring at the ceiling, she continued to answer Weiss's first question, about her transition. "Blake was the first person I told. We were still together when I finally broke down and confessed everything."

"So you were a man back then, and she thought she was in a straight relationship?" Then she sighed out very slowly. "Wow… I don't know how I could have handled being told that."

"Yeah." Obviously that choice of words wasn’t accurate, but they were at least phrases Weiss could understand, so she could easily piece together what happened. Not that she'd need to. "I remember we argued, I went to bed and cried myself to sleep. Then the next day, she woke me up at the crack of dawn, made me get up and sit in front of the dressing table mirror. I thought she was gonna try and talk some sense into me, start the 'Can't you see you’re a dude?' speech." But then, she started to smile. "She didn't. She asked me what eye shadow I thought would suit me, and asked if I needed tips. She gave me a fucking makeover and had bought me clothes and even a wig since my hair was so short…"

Weiss bit her lips. She could feel her father's arguments welling up in her mouth, threatening to spill out: that Blake was "enabling" Yang, feeding into her - his? - psychosis. That Yang had a mental illness and Blake had simply made it worse instead of seeing she got the treatment she needed, even if she didn't know she needed it.

But that didn't seem right. Other than the _very_ visible protrusion in the front of her feminine lace panties, there was nothing about the blonde that said "fake girl". She'd known her for over a month now, and at no point had she even been the tiniest bit suspicious she was born male. That she was into girls, maybe, but not that.

"So are you wearing a wig now?" she asked, trying to keep her tone neutral. "Or a padded bra?"

She shook her head. But of course, remembered Weiss couldn't see that at all. "No. I grew my hair out. I was worried it would never get to this length, but it's surprising what hormones and the right conditioners and shampoos can do." And then to the more intimate question, which she looked down to her own chest to answer. "My bra’s a normal one. That took surgery, but my diet's also helped make the boobs more… boobly. They look and feel a little more natural rather than a Barbie doll would, I guess."

"Yeah, okay. I'd be mad if you naturally had boobs about ten times bigger than mine. You… really do look like a girl. A real, naturally-born woman. Had me completely fooled."

"It's not about fooling people, Weiss." That was about as much as she could take of her ignorance. Even if she didn't know the right terms just yet, and was still trying to be gentle, such phrases were huge blows to Yang’s confidence and self-image. She had to teach her. "I didn't spend thousands of dollars, five years and… and psychological suffering into all this just to pull a massive prank on society. Nor did I do it because I wanted to 'look like' a girl. I _am_ one. "

Pausing, she ran a hand over her face, wiping away the few tears that were forming. "I did it for me. I did it so I could finally look in a mirror, and _not_ want to tear the skin off my own body. I did it so I could love myself, instead of spending years wishing I wasn't here. I did it so I could be the woman I am. The woman I knew I always was."

"But you still have…" It was her automatic reaction, but she cut herself off; pointing out that Yang still had a male organ wouldn't improve their situation, especially when it was obviously not a fact that she had somehow missed.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to imply you were kidding around with all this. Clearly it's important to you if you're the way that you are. This just isn't anything I ever had to think about before, okay? Not once, even when I read the Time article about Caitlyn. I skimmed it, and I felt how my father felt; that it's weird for Bruce to have come out after all this time, and it seemed like a publicity stunt. We're in the entertainment industry - we _always_ think that way first, and consider that it's anything else second. And since I've never known anybody else who had a sex change, that's as far as I could get."

"You're probably using the worst person to base your knowledge on with Caitlyn Jenner. Seriously, have you seen some of the shit she's said?" When there was no response, Yang was finally at a stage when she had no tears left to shed, calmed to a point her breathing was stable. They were talking now, not arguing, and it was an important talk to have.

“Ugh… I know you’re right, Caitlyn’s not the only woman out there who used to be a man, but like I said, that's all I know! This is not my area of expertise, okay?"

"And yes… I do still have a… a penis." She put it that way instead this time, since any other words seemed to crude or improper for the seriousness of the subject at hand. "But that's my choice, and it’s private and nobody else’s business. Sure, that's what doctors go off to gender you when you're first born, but that's not what makes you _you."_

"It's a v-very nice penis!" Weiss assured her… before groaning. "That sounded stupid, didn't it?” Turning, she pressed both hands to the door and pleaded with her bodyguard. "And I know you’re already who you are inside. Please, I'm trying. Honestly, I really am. But you've had years to deal with this, while I've had about thirty minutes!"

There was a pause still. It almost seemed as if Yang wasn't going to talk again, or ever come out of the bathroom. After a full minute of silence, there came one question.

"Up until you knew all this… You liked me, right?"

"Of course I did!" Then she reconsidered. "Well… I was afraid of how much. Didn't understand it. And now I don't know if this still makes me gay, or if I'm straight because you have a penis, o-or what… I was already confused enough _before_ I knew about that! But…" Her voice was breaking, and she hated it but she couldn't stop talking. "But I know I've never, ever felt about anybody the way I feel about you. Whatever that turns out to be."

“Really?” But she forced herself not to get too excited yet. She had to be definitely sure. "Just… ignore my genitals, any labels, all of that stuff for a few seconds, okay? Yes or no. Me, as a _person_ – that's what you like, r-right?"

Weiss only hesitated long enough to sigh. "Don't be an idiot, of course I like you. And… I know you're trying to ask if it's 'as more than a friend', and… I think so. But that's what's freaking me out!" Pinching the bridge of her nose, she said, "Okay, okay. You asked for a yes or no answer, without the labels and stuff. So if that's your question… then I have to say…" Gulping, she whispered, "Yes."

There was more silence that followed. The answer couldn't be made any clearer if she tried, and Yang had pulled out any and all possible technicalities. Weiss liked Yang. In ways more than professional, more than friendship. The only sound that followed was the unlocking of the door, to which she waited a moment for Weiss to back away from, before starting to open it.

When she opened it, she saw a pale, shaking Weiss pressed up against the far wall of the hallway. Her eyes were pointed down at her own sparkly toes, chest rising and falling rapidly. Even their conversation had not calmed her nerves from earlier. Finally stepping out of the bathroom and shutting the door behind her, she shyly looked toward Weiss again. The physical evidence from earlier had certainly calmed down, and it was back to being less noticeable again; but that didn't stop the heat in Yang's cheeks. Nor did it stop her eyes from welling back up again.

But at last, she was smiling. "Good. ‘Cause if it’s any consolation… I like you, too."

Weiss glanced up at Yang's groin again, to check if there was anything to see. When she found it looked as normal, instead of bulging the way it had a few minutes ago, she sighed with relief and looked up to meet Yang's eyes.

"You're… so beautiful. And that has never mattered to me before, whether or not another girl is beautiful - no matter what 'kind' of girl they are."

"Then don't think about it," she repeated, staying in her position by the bathroom door so as not to startle her. Just like the incident after the first attack, she waited for Weiss to be the first to make a move. At least that way, she wouldn't make wrong assumptions again. "Just show me how you feel."

"Is it really that easy?" Yang didn't answer. Somehow, she hadn't expected her to. Crossing the sparse distance, Weiss slid her hands up Yang's lapels and pressed her lips up into hers, eyes sliding closed once they connected.

They were every bit as sweet and perfect as the first time they kissed in her dressing room, as they had been moments before she discovered so much about Yang. So much that, at the end of the day, might not matter. Or it might, but as Yang said, she needed to stop thinking so much. Thinking just made her a nervous wreck and got in the way of her enjoying what her bodyguard had to offer.

Finally, a kiss Yang could be sure of. Just as soft as before, Yang found her arms wrapping around the smaller woman as she pulled her in closer, gently stroking her back as they continued their intimate kiss. She wouldn't rush it this time, only kneaded her lips against the diva's at her own pace. Apart from when she occasionally allowed her teeth to graze over her lower lip again.

That was all it took to completely melt Weiss, and she sighed restlessly, pushing her body right up against the other firm one as she melted into her strong arms. Confusing though most of this was, she couldn't even pretend that she disliked the kissing.

After a few more seconds, she pulled back and whispered, "Um… so, hi."

Quietly, she breathed right back, "Hey," before simply standing there contentedly, both of them in a warm embrace with one another. She didn't know what else to say, or what else to do. There were many things that she wanted to try and do, but she didn't want to assume this time. Not after their earlier mistake.

Although she did remark upon looking at the sofa, "Oh shoot… I forgot to set my bed up for the night…"

"Well… you could…" Clearing her throat, she whispered, "If I say you can sleep in my bed… y-you know that I'm, um… that I've never…" She started over. "I'm a virgin, okay?"

Yang only blinked a few times. From their conversations before, she had guessed at that fact. The lack of boyfriends certainly seemed to confirm that story But when it appeared that Weiss was ashamed of this fact, she placed one hand against the side of her neck, stroking up and down very slightly, soothingly even.

"You're saying that as if it's a problem, or as if you think all I want is…"

The gentle, familiar touch surprised her. Yang was already treating her like a lover, but also like far more. None of these were familiar things to her, no matter how often she saw them on television.

"Well… I don't want you to expect too much from me letting you in there, that's all." Then she turned toward her bedroom. "I need to get ready to go to sleep, then. What do you do before bed? I mean…" Shrugging, she turned back around. "Again, sorry if this isn't right, but is there anything special you need to do? Like, with hormones or something?"

Yang visibly cringed at that sentence. She knew Weiss was trying, truly she did, but that didn't stop the obvious 'you should not have said that' face from forming. "I've lived with you a month now, my routine's no different from what it always has been."

"Well, how should I know?" Hearing the irritation in her own voice, she simply stopped herself from commenting further and went into her room to get pyjamas.

Once the door shut, Yang quickly pulled hers out from her draw. A pair of shorts and a small top, yet again with the orange colours and fiery emblem upon them. Despite them not being so different to her usual outfit, she knew it would be far comfier to sleep in Weiss's company with. Turning her back on the door, she quickly slid off both her regular shorts and her panties, sliding the pyjama shorts on straight after. And then pulling her shirt over and off, she managed to unclasp her bra…

The door opened again and Weiss padded out, having only managed to remove her shoes thus far. "Sorry, could you help me with this zipper? It's so-"

And she froze. Yang was just in the process of sliding her bra off and depositing it on the bed. In a small voice, she breathed, "Sorry, I didn't mean…"

Looking back over her shoulder, Yang spotted Weiss looking at her bare back. Now that they were out in the open about things, she was relatively calm about it, even shrugging her shoulders as she pulled her new top on over the top of her bare upper half.

"What? That's like, the only private part you and I got in common. No biggie."

"No, I guess… yeah, it's fine." Swallowing, she walked up closer to Yang and repeated, "I just wanted your help with the zipper, I swear - I wasn't trying to intrude."

Once brushing her top down, she immediately walked over, turning her around to work on the zip. "You're fine, seriously. But how useless are you if you can't even get your own dress off?" She would have laughed, at least, if she could slide the zip down further then Weiss could initially. Way to make her eat her own words. "J-just… hngh… wow, it… _really_ doesn't wanna play today…"

"Serves you right for being so flippant," Weiss scoffed. "But I should have known - it took Emerald _and_ Miltia a few minutes to get me into this." Glancing over her shoulder, she asked, "Anything? Is it moving at all?"

"Nnnnope…" When she tried to budge it again, she just sighed. "Okay, exactly how much money would I get docked from my pay if I ruined this thing?"

"NONONO, don't do that! I…" Clearing her throat, she said in a less sensational voice, "Okay, normally I'd say it's fine, but I actually really like this dress. Um… do we have any olive oil, maybe? Or something?"

"N-nope, but we do have… _D-determin…nation!"_

And finally, with one last firm pull, Yang forced the zipper the rest of the way down, breathing a sigh of relief when she did so. Now she only had to get changed into her pyjamas. But not before she spread apart the material a little, leaning down to leave a quick kiss on the back of her spine.

"AaaAAhhh!" Weiss nearly squealed, shivering at the light touch. "N-now you stop that!" But her reprimand was not terribly harsh. "I'm going to finish changing, and don't you _dare_ come in and peep at me!" Clutching the front of her dress to prevent it from falling down, she stomped back into her room, elbowing the door closed behind her.

Standing still and waiting, Yang began to run her hands through her hair again, trying her best to neaten it up before she would be joining Weiss. That sounded so weird – that she'd be sleeping in the same bed as _The Weiss._ Then again, no one would have believed her if she told them she'd kissed _The Weiss,_ either. Setting up the last few things before bed, like putting her phone on its charger and taking a sip of water, she finally waited outside her bedroom door.

When it eased open, Weiss's expression was equal parts grumpy and terrified. But she did her best job of being polite as she said, "You may enter."

"Thank you." Yang smiled, following her into the small bedroom. It was nothing extravagant – simply a large bed taking up most of the space available, along with drawers on either side. She hadn't really entered it before, only once to collect the pyjamas from Weiss's bed. It wasn't somewhere one could stay comfortably for a long period of time doing anything other than sleeping, though it was cosy enough.

Weiss sat on the edge of the bed, glancing over at Yang. Clearly, she was ill at ease with what was happening, but she was both too polite and too curious to make any more protestations than she already had. When Yang didn't make any move to lay down, she cleared her throat and took the initiative.

"Um… so I normally sleep by myself. Which side do you prefer?"

"Oh… Um, any. I'm usually the big spoon, if that helps?"

"What do spoons have to do with anything?" she asked innocently. Not that she meant it to be innocent; she simply wasn't familiar with what that meant in terms of people sleeping next to each other. "I meant left or right."

Even if she didn't laugh when Weiss first confessed she was a virgin, that was something that did give her a light chuckle. "Spooning? It's cuddling. Like, say if you're lying on one side of the bed facing right, I'd be behind you also facing right. So your back is pressed up against my front, and we’re nestled together like a couple of spoons."

"O-oh. So… is that what you'd rather do? I can do that."

Seemed that realizing she was entirely out of her element made the diva defer to Yang's expertise. As she crawled over the bed toward the left side, so that she would be facing her right, she also seemed to realize that her knee-length blue nightgown was slowly hiking up the backs of her thighs more and more.

"Whoops!" she breathed, pushing her hand against her backside. As she reached her destination and began to slide under the covers, she looked over at Yang. "Are… are you coming?"

She couldn't just let that opportunity slip by her. Not when innuendos were a clear sign Yang was being Yang. "I thought we agreed that wasn't happening?" But sure enough, she followed suit, crawling over the top of the sheets to tuck herself into bed just to Weiss's side, also facing to the right. Little by little, she shuffled up closer to her, not rushing so as not to startle her.

By the time their bodies were flush with each other, Weiss was trembling. "You're so crude. Can't believe I let you into my bed."

But her words were clearly meant to serve as a mask for her nervousness. When she felt Yang's hand sliding past her side and onto her stomach, she let out a small squeak of panic. As if she were burned, Yang drew her hand back up instead, resting it against her ribs instead. Just lower than her breasts, but above her stomach so she wasn't putting so much pressure on Weiss.

Of course, being pushed against Yang's front had its advantages. Even if she couldn't see Yang's ‘surprise appendage’ anymore, she could feel it quite easily against her backside. Which might have explained why her breathing remained ragged, even with Yang's clearly-chivalrous withdrawal of her hand. She flexed her hindcheeks experimentally, just to see if it truly was what she thought it was. Yes, that was definitely Yang.

"S-so…" Pitching her voice low, trying not to be provocative with her next statement and funny instead, she went on, "I'm not saying you have a specific reason for choosing to be the 'big spoon', but… it would come in _handy_ , wouldn't it?"

When feeling the diva's backside right against her again, the pre-existing blush she had was only getting worse in size. Choosing to hide it as she burrowed her face info Weiss's hair, pulling her in closer with her hands to cuddle more, she let out a small uneasy groan.

"I m-may have… started things off that way a few times."

"And now, you want to do it to me." It was a statement, not a question. Weiss wasn't moving, though; she was shifting her cheeks back and forth, testing the feel of it there. "You're… hard again, right? Stupid question, but I'm going to be full of those for a while yet."

The more Weiss was grinding herself against her member, the truer that comment was becoming – and those pyjama pants did nothing to stop how obvious it would become. She could already feel it beginning to poke against her fabric.

"K-keep grinding like that and I will be…"

Truer words had never been spoken; as she shifted what she had originally intended to be the last time, she felt it grow the slightest amount and gasped. "O-oh, so it wasn't! I see!" Then she whispered, "Are… you going to be able to sleep like this?"

Drawing her head out from her hair at last, she was already half closing her eyes. Now Weiss had stopped, she could feel the exhaustion sweep over her. After fighting their way through such an emotional maelstrom, it really had taken everything out of her. Nodding, she simply stroked around Weiss's stomach a moment. Not enough to tease much, but enough to show she was there.

"Yeah, like a baby. What about you?"

"Eventually… maybe." The teasing was a lot more intense for Weiss than it was to Yang, but it was probably just because she was in bed with…

A transwoman. That was the correct terminology, but it didn't sound right - didn't feel right. She'd never called anyone that in her entire life, so why start now? Even if it was applicable; the breasts _and_ erection up against her back seemed to argue that this was very much the case. Yang was a woman, but she had something that felt quite manly to her. This was going to take a  lot of mental reevaluation for the sheltered pop star. 

Still, she was glad Yang had at least forced her to admit that she liked her, if the trappings of gender were ignored for a few seconds. That helped her put a lot of things in perspective. Such as… the fact that she wanted to be with Yang, too. In some ways, her having male genitalia would uncomplicate things - especially _bedroom things_. Boy-parts and girl-parts fitting together was the only way she knew sex to work, since she was not very worldly-wise. In other ways, it made things endlessly more confusing, but hopefully they could sort through them one at a time. Should they actually pursue a romantic relationship.

Again, she shifted against the half-erect length, and again it felt good. Even just against her butt! Why was she loving this weird activity so much?! Gulping, she began to raise her arm, to allow it to creep back to rest on Yang's hip for a moment.

When she felt that, Yang had just been doing a lot of the same deep thinking. They were cuddling for now, sleeping in the same bed for now, but what if it was just Weiss wanting to experiment? After assuming the wrong thing an hour ago, she didn't want to go down that path again, not when it led to her feeling so guilty she had to run off.

But nor was she going to lay motionless like some form of doll. She wanted to be more. She wanted to show Weiss that what she felt was more than most fan's fantasies, that she truly cared. Leaning up slightly, she craned her head forward to do just that, planting a kiss on her cheek.

The kiss did take Weiss by surprise, though it was somewhat more familiar territory. So she turned her head, just enough to give Yang access to her mouth - should she want that. In all honesty, she had no idea what Yang wanted – or what she did herself.

But Yang had no such problem in that area. Holding her body close, she pressed her lips up against Weiss's once again, kissing her softly and gently this time. Far slower than before. She wanted for Weiss to see that her interests were more than sex alone, despite what she had between her legs getting ever harder. That she could ignore, quite easily.

Hungrily kneading her lips back against Yang's, she rolled just enough that it didn't strain her neck as much to engage with her, and she began to relax into the motions. Yes, most of her was a bundle of raw nerves, but in this respect, she just wanted more. As much as she could handle.

And the hand on Yang's hip began to wander - not a lot at first, but it made its way up to her waistband. Which made Yang worry. Weiss wanted to see her before. In fact, she more or less had; lace panties weren't exactly the best to hide what lay behind them. Was that what she was trying to do again now?

This time, Yang's hand reached to grasp hers, pushing it back up her body again, just on her ribcage instead. Between their breaths, she whispered, "Behave."

And in a way Weiss couldn't explain, the command – it was a _command_ , how _dare_ she tell her she could or couldn't do something – shot even more heat to her core. That made no sense! Still, all she said was, "Y-yes, ma'am." Her cheeks felt hot the more she thought about it, until all she could do was rub her rear up against Yang a few more times, as if to both aggravate and soothe… and to convey that she had understood.

That was something Yang was pleased with. That despite everything, Weiss was still using the right pronouns. She was still treating her as a woman, not changing how she treated her because of this information. With a final kneading against those sweet, soft lips, she finally pulled away, cuddling right against her contentedly, allowing her hand to lightly trail over her belly again. Now, sleep really did sound good.

It didn't come as easily to Weiss, of course. For a long while, she lay there, feeling the semi-rigidness pressing right into her body, and she felt so hot that she felt like the entire room might spontaneously combust. In the end, however, when Yang never stirred again or made any other move to reinitiate their activities, she was forced to admit that they really were going to sleep now.

Why was she dissatisfied with that? Hadn't it been her that told Yang, in no uncertain terms, that they would not be having sex tonight? And here she was _annoyed_ that Yang had fallen asleep! She really was a case study in contradictions.

There was only so long the diva could maintain her "outrage" about the events of the night, and could panic about sleeping with a bump of semi-arousal pressing right up against her body. Yang's breathing was a slow and relaxing lullaby, and before long, she found herself drifting away. Her final thought before passing out was…

_'If I'm dating a girl who used to be a boy… isn't that the literal definition of bisexuality? If it's not, it probably should be.'_


	8. Chapter 8

**=Chapter 8**

All through the night, Yang hadn't stirred at all. She was used to tossing and turning, ending up in the most awkward of positions to try and get comfortable. But for the first time in years, she'd actually managed to stay still. The morning came, and the blonde finally began to shift around, slowly opening her eyes-

To see the back of Weiss's head. _In the same bed as her._

She'd expected this all to be some kind of cruel dream, that she'd wake up on the sofa, having fallen off it in the middle of the morning and slept on the floor. But the gentle breathing of Weiss was enough evidence that their night was real. They really did kiss, she really did come out to her. It was all true!

And on that note, she was well aware of another fact. Below, she could feel something pressed right against her now-rigid length: Weiss's backside. Just as it did last night, and it felt just as fantastic. If only she was awake, maybe she could grind herself against it until… but she stopped herself, retracting her hips from Weiss's backside to roll onto her back and sit up. There were one or two ways to ease her problem. Could she get away with a sneaky wank? Would the diva wake up?

In the end, Yang opted for the safer option: a quick shower. Making sure not to disturb the mattress too much, she shuffled her way off the bed, tiptoeing out as quietly as she could. She made a pit stop at her phone, then headed to the bathroom.

By the time Weiss did awaken, she was hearing the engine of the bus start up. Normally, she would not have cared in the slightest – except she instantly remembered everything that had transpired the day before.

Yang had a _dick_. No, wait – she was transgender. Kissing. MORE than kissing! And buried under all that, there was something else that she needed to remember immediately… what was it?

"WAIT!"

Dashing through the entire bus, she caught the driver and asked him how long they had been driving. Luckily, he was just approaching the edge of the stadium's parking lot; they had barely moved. Apologising for not letting him know sooner, she informed him of their plans for breakfast and thanked him for stopping as smoothly as he did.

At least that was taken care of. There were a lot of other worries that were much larger, but they could be sorted through at another date; if she let Yang’s one chance to reconnect with her old friend slip away, she would be the worst boss in the world.

On her way back through the bus, she spotted a text alert lighting up Yang's phone where it lay charging. It was unlocked. That was when she heard the shower going; that was just as well. At least one of them had already started getting ready! Snatching it up, she saw the text from Blake:

_'Its ok if Weiss cant actually meet up but were ready when u r : )'_

Smiling gently, she texted back, 'Give us an address and we'll be there' and signed it with a little heart. Then she set the phone back down and approached the bathroom door…

But the water had stopped going at some point. Was Yang already done? She really must have been exhausted to sleep through someone getting up from her own bed! Smirking gently to herself, she leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, waiting for Yang to emerge.

What she didn't expect was for Yang to be nearly naked when she did emerge. Wearing only a towel, which was tucked tightly above her breasts, she opened the door, nipping strands of hair behind her ear. She never noticed Weiss against the wall until she looked back up, and suddenly grasped the towel tighter against herself, cheeks turning completely red.

"Wha- how long have you been standing there?"

"Not long," Weiss snorted at her reaction, almost entirely at ease. Her stomach was in knots, but that was not outwardly visible. "You, um, got a text from Blake and I told her we'd be on our way. Is… that alright? Maybe I should have waited for you to reply to her yourse-"

"Oh shit, I completely forgot! I'd have got up earlier otherwise." Yet when Weiss was certainly looking all the more, she continued to hold the towel tightly against her, making double sure it wouldn't fall. What an idiot she was for not bringing a change of clothes with her! "S-sorry… I didn't expect for you to be up so soon."

Shrugging, she turned away when she noticed how modest Yang was being. "Hey, you were the one up before me. The way you passed out on me last night, I didn't expect you to be awake before next _year_."

Nervously chuckling to herself, Yang made her way toward her suitcase, pulling out a fresh shirt, pair of shorts and undies, and tossing them onto the sofa. "Well, getting blue-balled is exhausting, what do you expect? Plus, you know I sleep like a log, anyway."

However, as she kept her back to Weiss, she did slowly turn to look toward her. Was Weiss going to watch her get dressed? Even after they'd both agreed not to initiate anything just yet?

"That is true, as we have noted on several occasions." Weiss _did_ mean to stand there. There was a hint of a smirk in the corner of her mouth - as if she were challenging Yang, testing her to see how she would react to this situation. Would she flee back to the bathroom to finish changing, or do it right there in front of her boss?

Blinking a couple of times, Yang was beginning to realise their roles had been completely reversed. This time, Weiss was the daring one, practically taunting Yang by keeping her eye contact directly on her. Fleeing now would only mean she would get more teasing about it later for chickening out, and that was the last thing she wanted.

Swallowing, she finally made her choice, dropping the towel to get started. Her back was still turned, even as she began to slide on a new pair of underwear. But even then, the curvy figure of Yang Xiao Long wasn't something to be ignored, back _or_ front.

Weiss's eyes sprang wide when she saw the towel hit the floor. Was Yang insane?! She had expected her to pull the undies up while the towel was still on, since that was a much more intimate part to reveal than just her smooth, muscled back. But somehow, impossibly… she found she didn't mind the view. Maybe it was because the subject of Yang confused her so much in general lately, or maybe it was because she had so recently felt Yang's arousal pressed up against her own cheeks. Either way, she was now definitely viewing those as something like a sexual object. And those of the bodyguard were attractive to her.

Yang didn't even stop when she began to slide on a new pair of panties; plain this time, rather than lace ones like from the night prior. But with her bra, it was at least a far slower process. In return, it was like she was daring Weiss to come take a look for herself - and the diva's curiosity began to get the better of her. What would breasts that had been artificially augmented look like? She knew plenty of Hollywood starlets who'd had work done, but she never asked them to strip for her! But how could she take a look without making a big deal about it?

"Hey," she asked in a would-be casual voice as she strode toward the blonde, beginning to edge around her side. "Do you want some help with that?"

Such sudden closeness took Yang by surprise. She dropped the straps she had ahold of, frantically trying to grasp them again as they fell either side, forcing the garment to hang loosely again. It still covered said area, but less completely than if she had finished the job. There was a flash of flesh, and Weiss couldn't help but see some very light pink scars underneath each breast; they weren't immediately visible, and could be missed if someone didn't know what to look for. Then the bra was more or less in place.

"Damn it," Yang muttered, looking downward toward the floor. "Well… I guess you could, if you want to."

"Sure. Just don’t try anything funny."

As she moved around behind Yang, the reality of her situation crashed down on her. Up until this point, she had still been reeling from finding everything out, dazzled by the seemingly-magical nature of Yang's transformation. But it was an unfortunate fact that no matter how many years would pass in the future, such marks would remain on her; they would never be as spotless as other women's. Seeing those remainders from one of her surgeries drove it home that this was not all fun and games for the blonde. Her heart seized as she began to pull the elastic together and hook the clasp, and she was so inexperienced with such feelings that she found herself struggling to comprehend what the feeling was.

 _Sympathy_. Not just the vague kind she felt when she heard about a young fan in the hospital, but one that hit her in the gut because Yang was someone who was already in her life - and deeply so. Maybe Yang had come a long way since then, but she could never know what it had been like for her. Not really.

Of course, Yang wasn't thinking about that. She was just focusing on the matter at hand, grabbing her shirt and pulling it over her head once Weiss was done. Smoothing it down once done, she then went to get her shorts. "How long ago did Blake message?"

"Oh," Weiss said, coming back to herself and smiling politely up at her. "Um… probably about ten minutes ago? Not that long. I won't shower before we go to meet with her; normally I'd insist on it, but I did take one right before the show last night, and we're pressed for time."

"Right, yeah. Don't wanna keep her waiting; I think four years is long enough." Pulling up her shorts, and then immediately putting on her jacket afterwards, she was ready to go. And yet… "You gonna get dressed, too? Or are you going in that cute little nightgown?"

"You didn't seem to have a problem with it last night," she said flirtatiously, fluttering her eyelashes. A moment later, she heard her own words and shook her head vigorously. "I… am going to go change, and we will both forget I ever said that." Then she began walking toward her bedroom.

Just as she was closing the door, Yang quickly called out to her, "I'd rather not!"

And she really wouldn't. The more she thought about it, the more insane it seemed. Weiss was really flirting with her, she really did sleep by her side the previous night. Yet again, she found herself pinching the skin on her arm to try and test if this was a dream or not. And with each little wince of pain, she could tell it wasn't.

But could she tell Blake about this? Sure, she acted strangely upon discovering Blake was with Sun, and Blake herself had been shocked that she was interested in a woman now, but this would be even weirder. Weiss was solid proof that Yang wasn’t as straight as they both previously assumed, after all - proof that their decision to end the relationship might have been a tiny bit hasty. And finding out who her crush was would be worse than an abstract idea, even if she weren’t a celebrity.

It was a decision she would have to make when she came to it. For now, they had a schedule to keep.

“Need any help in there?” No response. Shaking her head and grinning at her own stupid self, Yang grabbed for her boots.

* * *

 

The restaurant certainly wasn't Weiss's idea of fine dining. Sure, it looked clean enough inside the nondescript cookie-cutter edifice, but the carpets were unfortunate, the servers' outfits were offensive, and the very idea of piling her plate with food that had been sitting out under _warming lamps_ for God only knew how long did nothing to inspire a feeling of hunger. Rather the opposite, in fact.

But it was where Blake had chosen for them to meet up. Upon walking in, they quickly noticed the black-haired girl standing up and waving to them from the far corner of the booths. Glancing at Yang, Weiss barely tilted her “incognito” dark sunglasses down as told the hostess waiting to seat them, "That's our table."

"Alrighty," she said, following them as they went to sit down. "Will you be having the buffet?"

"We… will decide in a moment." Privately, she was thinking that she would decide after watching one of the others eat from it, and seeing if they came down with food poisoning.

"Speak for yourself, I'm gonna eat so much I'll be full till New York!" Yang was already grinning, patting at her belly to express such a hunger. Where the girl put it all seemed to remain a complete mystery.

"I like your style, girl!" the blonde boy chuckled from the far corner of the booth next to Blake. He had obviously been waiting a while, considering he had an empty glass in front of him. "Blake wouldn't let me get any for myself till you guys showed, I'm starving!"

"Fine, go," Blake said, edging out of her booth so he could head toward the buffet. "I'll just girl-talk until you get back with your plate."

"Awwww yeah!" There were no arguments on his end. Right away, he shuffled past Blake, narrowly avoiding Yang as he made a dash for the buffet line. Not that Yang minded, she sat herself down opposite Blake, still looking at Sun's direction as he heaped more and more bacon onto his plate.

"Well, I can certainly see why you're with him; he’s like me on crack."

"He is not," she laughed quietly, blushing. "But yeah… he makes me laugh, and he's a lot of fun. And I guess his confidence _does_ remind me of you, a little."

When the table fell quiet, Weiss piped up without glancing away from the pages of the menu, "Don't stop on my account; I'm fully aware that you two used to be an item."

"Yeah." Scratching the back of her head nervously, Yang could feel her cheeks were already turning red again. This time everyone would be on the same page, more or less. Pointing downward also, she whispered to Blake, "She also knows about… _that_ now."

"Ohhhh," Blake said reasonably. To her credit, she didn't react very strongly, but she did look mildly surprised. "Is that something she had to know as your boss, or just…"

"No, no," Weiss assured her, looking up at last with a slight smile. "Trust me, we don't require that kind of thing on the application. And I never would have guessed! I mean, isn't she gorgeous?!"

"Definitely," Blake agreed readily, smiling warmly across at her old friend as she reached across to pat her hand gently. Privately, because she was worried Weiss had upset Yang with that “you’re too pretty to be trans” mentality. "You've come a long way, baby."

But Yang was too distracted by Blake to care about that. She couldn't help but smile warmly at her, keeping her hand entirely still so Blake could continue. How lucky they both were that years of separation did nothing to permanently sever their friendship. Even a new boyfriend in the mix did nothing to really affect that.

Said boyfriend returned, holding a plate stocked full of bacon, sausages, eggs and pancakes - a rasher of bacon hanging out of his mouth. Waiting for Blake to pop up so he could sit, he managed to swallow just enough to speak again. "Quick! They just put more bacon out, it's still warm!"

"Okay okay, I'm on it," Blake laughed as she let him into the booth. "You two coming?"

"I'm waiting to see if Sun survives his plate," Weiss remarked offhandedly while pulling out her phone. "You two go on ahead."

"You want me to bring you back some bacon?" Yang was already shuffling out of the booth and standing by her friend's side, not heading the rest of the way until she had confirmation.

"No, thank you; I can get my own food if and when I decide eating here won't harm my constitution."

"Fine," Blake snorted as she paced away. Once she and Yang were out of earshot and collecting trays to pile their plates on, she leaned closer and whispered, "Is she always this picky? I mean, it's just breakfast."

"Oh, this is nothing. When we went to get coffee with Ruby, she asked the one who served us to remake her drink twice because there wasn’t 'enough foam'. I felt so bad for the poor guy."

As she piled on a few strips of bacon to her plate, she did gaze back at Weiss for a moment, who seemed to be completely at awe when she watched Sun shovelling the food into his gaping maw. She began to smile rather warmly. "But she's… something special."

"Of course! She's THE Weiss, right?" When Yang didn't respond after she had scooped a spoonful of scrambled eggs onto her plate, she looked over to see her old friend was still gazing after Weiss. Not even moving. After a few seconds, she laughed, "Oh, come on. You can't be serious!"

Snapping out of the Weiss-induced trance, Yang suddenly looked back toward the food again. But the evidence of just how she was looking at her was plastered all over her face in the form of a bright red blush. "W-what? What were you saying?"

"You have a crush on your _boss!”_ It was a statement, but still a dubious one. When Yang's blush didn't vanish and she didn't quite manage to refute it within a few seconds, Blake gasped halfway through the action of putting a pancake on her plate. "Oh my God - you really DO have a crush on her!"

“Shhh!” But despite that, there was still no true response from Yang. In fact, she'd completely paused her movements. There was undeniable truth in Blake's claim… except it was so much more. And when Blake was finally sidled up beside her, she whispered, “Do you have to put it that way?”

"What do you mean? You can't- come on, Weiss?! She's one of those girls who would only look twice if you have your own IMDB page or a record deal! I mean, I'll give you that she's not quite as snobby as I expected, but she's still one of those 'uber-celebs', right? Asking for more foam and all that."

All the while, Yang was biting her lip. If anyone else was asking, she would have responded instantly, come up with some way to turn this back on the one who was teasing, or just denied the whole thing. But this was _Blake._ She knew her too well, and after all those years apart, she didn’t want to start off the third phase of their friendship with any lies or half-truths.

Looking around once again to make sure no one was in earshot, she finally admitted, "Yesterday… that girl who I was talking about. The Christian? Who was teasing me with the massage thing?"

"Okay?" Her hand slipped off of the ladle for the maple syrup. "No. NO! You're kidding - this can't be happening! She really was? _Weiss_ was teasing you?! "

“Yeah – but that’s not all.” She scrunched her eyes shut, bracing herself for Blake's reaction. "How you said… I should test the waters a little more. To see how she'd react? Well, that was what led to me telling her about…"

That one, Blake caught onto immediately. "Yeah, she said. And you said. Wow, this is… how did she take it?" Then her hand flew up to cover her mouth. "Oh God, I didn't mean 'take it' like that! That sounds SO wrong!"

Despite being suddenly tense, Yang found herself trying to stop herself laughing at that comment, having dropped the egg she had picked up before she could get it to her plate. But once she had calmed herself down, she shrugged her shoulders, grasping a new egg instead.

"She… okay, it was weird. At first, she thought it was a joke, because the confession kinda came about when we were, uh… m-making out?"

 _Making out._ That hit Blake a lot harder than the other confessions had. Clearing her throat, she breathed, "Wow. I take back everything I said about Weiss not being interested, since… since that happened." In a daze, she picked up some of the lettuce from under the fruit instead of the fruit itself. "You and she are really… well, what would you say you are? I don't want to assume anything now!"

Yang could only sigh. She seemed to be staring down at the food before them, but in truth, it was into nothingness. Too much was happening in such a short amount of time for her to process all of it properly, especially after the events of the previous night.

"I don't know. I mean, I'm still trying to figure out what all of this means. We both are, I think. I've been so damn sure I'm straight all this time, and now, that all flew out the window, right?" Suddenly she put all the cutlery down, expression becoming sadder. "Like what if… what if I jumped the gun? What if I really was just a straight guy all this time, a-and now I went through all these steps, and I’m… I can’t go back?"

This was more familiar territory for Blake. Yes, she was still completely shaken up by finding out her ex was dating a bona fide celebrity, but they had been down this road together many, many times.

"That's not what this is," she told her, grasping her bicep with a firm but gentle hand. "We both know from those few months together, after you came out to me… that gender and sexuality aren't the same thing. You can _be_ a girl and _like_ girls. And… I mean, if you tell me you _feel_ more like a boy again, that’s completely valid, but you don't _have_ to be a boy to date women."

"But it would sure make things a fucktonne easier." Taking a quick glance back to Weiss and Sun again to make sure they weren't suspicious about how long they were taking, she couldn’t help a small smile when she could see Sun hesitantly pushing a CD toward Weiss to sign, even if he seemed to be playing it cool. No wonder Blake liked him.

Looking back around to her friend again, the smile was much more real when she stepped closer to her side. "I'm being careful at the moment, I guess. She made a few offhand offensive comments, but I don't think she genuinely meant them that way. But until I can be sure of that… I dunno, I'm not sure where we stand."

"What kind of comments?" Blake asked immediately, sliding her tray along the buffet to maintain the semblance that they were simply getting food - and not engaged in a life-or-death conversation about Yang's sexuality.

"That I had her fooled, that I looked 'just like a real woman', then she was sorta implying she may not be gay if I still have… _mister_ down there. You heard her saying I’m gorgeous just now.” She grabbed a glass and pushed it under the apple juice dispenser. "And that's why I'm being careful, because she's almost going down the same path Scarlet did. Only difference is, she's willing to listen and learn so far."

Wincing, Blake filled a glass with whole milk as she mulled that over. All their time together, first as lovers and then as friends, she had always known Blake to drink whole milk; it was one of her secret pleasures. "Well… she does seem pretty uptight – and like you said, religious. Give her some time." Trying for a bit of dark humour, she then chuckled and added, "And hey, she's not like that first boy you dated, who literally ran away, right? There's a plus."

"Oh god, he was fucking weak." Yang was able to laugh at that easily now. Back when it happened, obviously she was distraught. But as time went on, she grew more and more confident in herself and her body, and gained the strength to laugh at such encounters rather than dwell on them. But before they turned around, she leant in toward Blake. "He was just scared because mine was bigger than his…"

"Oh, I’m sure it was since it’s as big as Sun's - but I didn't tell you that, _especially_ since I haven't told _him_ that. You know how sensitive guys can be about size." A second later, she added, "But… I'm happy for you. Do you want me to keep this between us? I mean, I don't know if you two had a press statement planned or whatever…"

"If that's cool with you. I mean, I'm not so bothered about people knowing I might be gay, or bi, or whatever; Weiss on the other hand… that could fuck things up big time."

“My lips are sealed.”

Finally, the two began to turn to head back to the others. Sun had already finished half his plate, seeming to be mid-conversation with Weiss. Funnily enough, about Neptune.

"All you need to know is that he's a huge geek. He may seem all flirty and cool, but that's his weak point. All you gotta do is mention something about Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings and he geeks out like a dude at Comic-Con."

“Really?” she was laughing in complete surprise. "I never would have guessed! Wow… the great Neptune Vasillias, a closet nerd!" Then she glanced up to see the other two approaching and scooted further into the booth. "Welcome back. Find anything worth eating?"

"A few things," Blake said. "They have fruit, even if the rest of their spread doesn't float your boat."

"Or, if you want decent food, the eggs aren't too greasy!" Yang waited just beside the booth in case Weiss did want to fetch food after all, quickly putting the tray on the table in some attempt to help her decide.

"Hmm…" Glancing between Yang and Sun, who seemed beyond content with his bellyful, she finally rose from the booth. "Well, if my bodyguard says it's alright, then I guess she knows best." The comment was merely meant to flatter her without being overtly flirty. "Back in a few. Does anybody want anything?"

"No, I'm fine," Blake insisted. "Get your food!"

"I will be judging you if you skip the bacon!" Yang yelled out teasingly as she walked away, soon taking her seat, pulling her tray in front of herself. She didn't even hesitate to get a fork full of bacon. "Cooome to mama…"

"Wow, you two are definitely comfortable with each other," Blake teased mildly as she began cutting up her pancakes. True, she had said she wouldn't say anything, but there was no law that said she couldn't give her old friend some good-natured ribbing.

"Hey, if she wasn't close to me, I'd be a pretty crappy bodyguard, right?" she laughed before shoving the bacon straight into her mouth, saving no time for manners or to be 'ladylike'. Where Weiss saw a breakfast bar that was below her high standards, Yang saw a place she could be herself if she wanted. Even if that included eating a pig, like a pig.

Such actions were mirrored by Sun, who had just swallowed before saying, "Yeah, that's true. Y'know, you two left pretty early in the night; do any partying afterwards?"

"Yeah, did you?" Blake echoed as she raised her glass of milk toward her lips. Her voice was innocent, but the twinkle in her eye most certainly was not. All Yang could do was slightly choke on her food, swallowing the last of it so she could cough. Really, after what she just explained to Blake, she should have seen that coming.

"U-Uh… heh, not really. Weiss was just exhausted, so I just… played on my phone till I could drop off to sleep."

"I see." Though her voice was full of doubt, the raven-haired woman was sure not to glance at Sun. If she did, he would no doubt immediately notice that she knew more than she was letting on; he might not have been the sharpest tool in the shed, but he certainly wasn't an idiot, either.

"And you didn't head out for a night on the town? Let down. There's tons of gay bars and stuff around here if you needed to unwind, y'know." But he winced in pain when he felt Blake kick him in the shins from under the table, quickly correcting himself, "Oookay, maybe that's not where… people like you go… okay, sorry about that."

Rolling her eyes, Yang still offered a smile back. "Nah, I’ve been to a zillion gay bars; everybody on the spectrum is welcome, unless it’s one of those ‘strictly gay dudes’ type of places. Drag queens are kind of like… not sisters, but cousins, I guess; we both know what it’s like to have to tuck the junk.” While Sun was choking on his next bite, she went on, “But even if I was up for a little _company_ for the evening, I can't leave Weiss. The shift's one of those 24/7 deals, y’know?"

"Well, you could probably tap one of the other security when you need a break, couldn't you? There's no way they should require you to just be joined at the hip with her." Keeping her voice neutral, Blake added, "No matter how pleasant her company is."

Under the table, Sun wouldn't be able to see when Yang kicked Blake's shin, a blush forming on her face again which she tried to hide behind more mouthfuls of bacon. Without noticing that, the comment simply made him laugh.

"Well, yeah. I mean, that sounds like a blast! Travelling the country, seeing all the sights, hanging out with one of your favourite singers for three months… I’d do that with Neptune if I didn’t have steady work as an electrician. Can’t take off months at a time from that. Or you could, but it’s not a great idea if you wanna have a job to come back to."

Only then did Blake flash her an earnest smile. “True - it must be so much fun! I mean, weren’t you just in LA a few days ago? What’s it like down there?”

“Tedious,” Weiss told them as she re-joined. All she had collected was a grapefruit, two pieces of bacon, and a coffee with cream. “Some of the people I work with down there are less than pleasant.”

"Sister trouble," Yang leaned in to whisper. She somewhat knew that Weiss wouldn't mind too much if her friends knew, but it wasn't exactly something to scream out to the whole restaurant.

"Yeah, people from LA can be kinda snobby, huh? I mean, that's why I'd rather stay right here in Chicago; rough around the edges, maybe, but good people," Sun boasted.

“Indeed; I’m liking the company here a lot more.” Weiss waited another few seconds for Yang to let her into the booth, then nudged her shoulder with the corner of her tray.

"Hmm? Oh! Sorry." Right away, Yang got back up upon realising, waiting for Weiss to sit herself back down before she returned.

"Sweet! You should come back more often to hang." Finally eating the last mouthful of pancakes, Sun began to dab at his face even before swallowing, getting rid of any extra maple syrup. But suddenly his eyes lit up. "Oh yeah! Where’s your next show?"

"St. Louis," Weiss told them promptly. "It's a straight shot south, isn't it? I'm not as familiar with this area of the country, but I… well…" Her voice fell silent and she concentrated on spooning brown sugar onto her grapefruit.

"What is it?" Blake asked gently.

"Don't laugh." Sighing, she didn't look up from the grapefruit as she ploughed ahead. "Before all this trouble and my father hiring Yang, I would spend a lot of my time on the road up front with the driver. He's a nice enough guy, but seems to get irritated with me if I overstay my welcome. But he'd try to teach me the names of all the highways we use to get from A to B."

"Ahh. Yeah, it's more or less south." But the confession tugged on Yang's heartstrings. Weiss really had no company for these long trips? It explained a lot, why she was so hostile the first day of the trip and why she was so unconcerned when Yang tried to strike up conversation; she was used to the solitude now. But did it possibly mean that Weiss was only becoming so close to Yang because of her desire of company in general?

"Good, good,” the diva sighed. “I know it's not far; that's why we could stop for breakfast. We'll have about eight hours left to get down there after this."

"Well, I hope you two have a good trip," Blake sighed with a slight frown. "It's been nice meeting you - and you can probably figure out that I missed my girl here."

Nodding, Weiss looked at her evenly as she raised her coffee cup to her mouth. "As long as you're only missing her _friendship_. And hey, we'll be back through Chicago again someday."

Yang could only find herself smiling warmly while she finished up her food. Sun had completely missed the slightly territorial comment, and Blake gave no other reaction besides to shoot Yang a little wink while no one was looking. But it had felt nice to hear.

Once her plate was clear, Yang piped up, “Well, if you're cool with me couch-surfing, I'll have to take the long bike ride over and crash for a couple of weeks. No way am I letting another four years slip by!"

"Really?" Blake breathed excitedly - before glancing at Weiss. "That is, if you can get away."

"Hey, I can arrange for other protection for a couple of weeks,” her boss said casually. “After the tour, that is; during the tour would be a lot more problematic."

"Well, duh! I meant after the tour, of course." As she spoke, a thought came to Yang's mind. An evil, taunting one. Sure, she was taking things carefully, and wasn't exposing things to Sun at all, but that didn't mean she shouldn't have some fun.

Surreptitiously reaching one of her hands below, where neither Blake nor Sun could see, she pushed her hand right against Weiss's behind, giving it a small squeeze as she said the last few words. "I wouldn't wanna leave you hanging, would I, Weiss?"

Suddenly, the tiny segment of grapefruit that the dainty diva had been prising loose went rocketing into Sun's face with a _SPLAT_.

"O-OH!" she gasped out, dropping her spoon immediately. "Oh wow, I am so, _so_ sorry! I can't believe I did that!"

"Oh, _no,_ how did _that_ happen?" Yang said innocently, giving one more slight squeeze before her hand left. All as she watched a vaguely embarrassed Sun grab the napkin he had just used to wipe away the maple syrup to also dab at the juices. Although, little to his knowledge, it actually made it worse, and smeared both the fruit and the syrup on his forehead at the same time.

While Blake was laughing aloud at the look on Sun's face, covering her mouth to attempt to seem less cruel, Weiss was looking up at Yang with pure outrage. Well, not pure; there was also a slight blush in her cheeks from the very brief teasing.

"Sorry," Weiss told Sun earnestly. "Guess my hand… _slipped_. Apparently that can happen to the best of us sometimes."

Her other hand trailed from her own thigh onto Yang's, teasing just around the hem of her shorts leg. Raising her eyebrows once again, Yang couldn't help but look over to Weiss. So the game was on, was it? Her hand returned to Weiss's rear again, giving an even firmer squeeze than before in revenge.

"You wanna be careful. Don't wanna make a… mess…"

"True," Weiss said, tensing the cheeks as Yang teased them - and determinedly trailing up further. She knew what she was close to, and was determined not to advance there without Yang's permission… but it didn't mean she couldn't linger in the general vicinity. "Really have to work on my… _coordination_."

"Oh, it wasn't _that_ big of a deal," Blake laughed, completely oblivious to what was going on out of her line of vision.

Worried that Weiss wouldn't stop until she had given as much as she received, Yang finally released the firm cheek below, going back to her juice. Even if that hand was still against her inner thighs, still risking 'making something obvious', she tried her best to ignore it. Despite the growing blush.

Which Sun was certainly oblivious to, as when he'd finally managed to clean his face, he pushed his plate to one side, resting both arms on the table. "So… Weiss, what about you? Didn't you wanna see the Chicago nightlife? Get wild and crazy?”

"Oh, as if," Weiss snorted as she continued to work on her grapefruit with one hand… while she caressed the inside of Yang's thigh with her other. The temptation to slide it up further was only growing the longer she did this, but she resisted, the petting more gentle and fond now. "I don't normally get particularly wild at all – especially not if you meant ‘hooking up’. No, I prefer to get to know someone really well. Then, if a relationship develops… well, that's just a bonus, isn't it?"

"Really?" Blake asked with a knowing smirk. "Seems to me like you haven't done any dating; I mean, I've never seen a tabloid headline that had you hooking up with Bieber or anybody."

"Nope," she sighed, squeezing Yang's flesh gently. "Just hasn't been anyone _in the industry_ who caught my eye."

The squeezing of her leg only made Yang choke slightly once more, quickly using her spare hand to pat the top of her chest so as to help the swallow of her beverage down. After a short cough, she set the glass down while her other arm tried to nudge Weiss. Of course, it was useless to try.

"Well, you never know,” Sun said easily enough. “I guess the right person is always who you least suspect." It was a seemingly innocent remark, one made by someone who literally had no idea of anything to do with the couple, but it was enough to make Yang choke once again.

"Isn't that how it always goes?" Blake laughed, patting her mouth with a napkin to take care of the milk moustache. "Meet somebody you don't even think of as dateable, for… whatever reason. Next thing you know, you see them in a whole different light."

Nodding, Weiss pet her just a little higher than she intended - and she felt something soft _give_ when her pinky hit home. Of course, she slid back up out of the way immediately, but a thrill shot through her stomach when she realized she had come into contact with it again. Touched Yang in her most sensitive spot.

Yang had to nod in agreement to try and stay with the conversation, hurrying to finish off her juice. The very last part of her meal. It seemed to be the unspoken condition of their game, that Weiss may continue to tease her until they left the booth. But to make sure of that fact, she asked, "S-so, Weiss… when do we gotta go?"

"I'm in no hurry," she replied as she spooned more grapefruit into her mouth. Her hand was still on Yang's thigh for the moment but had come to a complete halt; she felt too guilty for drifting too high, and wanted to grant her a temporary respite. "Didn't you and Blake want to catch up? So… catch up!"

"Hah… W-well, um…" Yang was still a bundle of nerves, cheeks still red from being stroked below. Their game hadn't finished just yet it seemed; it was only through sheer force of will that she wasn’t having a reaction in the middle of a restaurant! "So, uh… oh! How did you and Sun meet?"

"Well," Blake began shyly as she glanced to her side at her messy boyfriend, "it was about six months ago, give or take. I was checking out the fifth Harry Potter book, and Sun was returning the fourth one. Felt like fate."

"This was in the library,” the messy-haired blonde smiled as he recalled, letting one hand rest on hers gently. “I was returning it for Neptune, but had a good hour to kill, so I started reading it. And then, low and behold, she was standing at the counter, looking all cute and whatever. We just read the same book, and we could talk about the ending, and one thing led to another…"

"Aww, that is adorable." Yang was mainly trying to distract herself still, slamming her legs together in an attempt to throw Weiss off a little. "But how do you go from a little reading club to dating? Did you just ask or something?"

“Well,” Blake laughed easily, “I was asking if he liked the Firebolt or the Nimbus. And he just picked one, the big liar. But then he started talking about brooms, and how he wished his car was a broom instead of a junker in the shop. I offered him a ride home, and the rest is history.”

“That really is precious,” Weiss laughed, her hand squirming between the two rock-hard thighs of her bodyguard. Privately, she wondered when Yang found the time to keep working out in the bus; she’d only seen her do it once or twice. Then again, Yang was usually up earlier than she was.

"Hey, I like the Nimbus 2001's!” Sun was protesting, oblivious to the struggle going on in their very booth. “They look all sleek and nice, like the wizard version of a Ferrari."

Was Weiss enjoying this? All while she was trying to shake her off, Weiss was just grasping at her, even tensing her hand to try and feel more. If she was this bold now, maybe she would be even moreso in the bus. That both excited and terrified the bodyguard.

"Right. So this nerd, he starts talking to me about all this Potter stuff - and he did know his stuff - and then I finally ask him, 'So what book’s your favourite? Mine is _Order of the Phoenix_.' And his answer is… ‘The one in my hand’!" Giggling quietly, Blake had to take a breath or two before she could continue. "I thought he just meant the book in the series - not that _exact copy_ of the book, that exact day!"

Meanwhile, Weiss had nearly finished her grapefruit in spite of how much more work it was singlehanded. However, she had managed to pop her hand out from between Yang's thighs and was proceeding to lay it on top, _very close_ to a certain part of her anatomy - not gripping it or doing anything untoward. Merely allowing it to rest there, as if it were exhausted from its recent battle against the thighs.

Yang's only response? To stare wide eyed down toward the table. She couldn't believe this was happening! Thankfully Weiss hadn't done enough to make said part 'ready' for things, yet. But if it remained there much longer, or moved further inward, it just might.

"Hey, it's amazing what can happen in one day! I mean, I got you to go out for coffee with me in a day, right?" Sun giggled, leaning over to bump into Blake's side happily.

"You know, he's not wrong." Blake leaned over and favoured Sun with a small cheek-kiss, just a quick one. “Ew, syrup-breath.” She was still smiling about that when she noticed Yang staring at her plate. "What's wrong?"

Noticing this herself, Weiss quickly moved her hand away; until that point, she had been pretty sure Yang wasn't all that affected since she wasn't reacting. Besides, she had started this whole thing! But seeing that Yang was literally goggle-eyed at what Weiss was doing made her withdraw to her own lap, feeling faintly embarrassed. How stupid she was to have assumed she was ready to do flirty things like this in public, when she didn't really understand how they worked!

Finally snapping back to reality, Yang couldn't keep the blush off her face. Innocently brushing a few strands of her hair behind her ear, she laughed it off. "Oh nothing! I just think I've bitten off more than I could chew…" That comment was obviously aimed toward Weiss, even though she was the one that started the teasing. But noticing her principal’s empty plate, she asked, "Oh, her majesty has completed her meal?"

"I have," Weiss sighed, frowning at Blake. "And I'm afraid that means we have to get going - they can't start the show without me. Even though I wish they could sometimes."

"Aww… well, okay then, I guess. It was super nice to meet you - and I'm really grateful you brought Yang back into my life again!" Glancing at Sun awkwardly, the girl toyed with an unopened packet of sweetener as she said, "When we broke up, we both kinda needed the time and distance, but it hurt to lose my friend. So… so I really owe you."

"What?! No, don't be silly - I'm overjoyed that you found each other again! You don't owe me anything!"

"Well we're getting you a thing,” Sun announced. “Blake was talking about her all night with this ginormous grin on her face, so we have to do something! Dunno what, though...”

While Sun mused, Yang was already starting to shuffle out of the booth at the same time Weiss and Blake were. And once she and her old friend were free, she immediately wrapped her arms tightly around her, nuzzling her head close into her shoulder in their embrace. "It's been really, _really_ good to see you, Blake. I'm so glad to have you back."

"So am I," Blake sighed into her neck as she hugged her back. It was a very familiar hug, but not a flirtatious one.

Not that Weiss was experienced enough to be able to tell. After nearly twenty seconds had passed, she finally poked Yang in the back of the arm and said, "Alright, alright, break it up. We can’t dawdle too much."

Although she let go when poked, she left one hand on Blake's shoulder for a moment, looking into her eyes with adoration. Something more than a simple friendship would always be between them, even if they were burying it now. "Take care of yourself." Then she looked over to the other blonde, who had only just shuffled out from his seat to join them. "And you! Take care of her as well. I mean it, bub! You better treat this lady right!"

"Psh! I've been taking good care of her so far, right?" Rather than hugging them both, Sun instead held his fist out toward Yang, which she responded to with a fist bump. And then held an open hand out for her to shake properly. "Was great to meet you. Even though I've said that five times, heh."

"Sorry it hasn't been as great meeting me," Weiss sighed airily as she held her own hand out to be shaken by either of them. "But you've been a good sport putting up with my presence."

"Oh, shut up," Blake snorted as she took and shook it. "You're awesome and you know it."

"Yes, I do."

Yang laughed, "Careful, all that praise will go to her head, and I gotta deal with that."

“Hmph!”

After another heartfelt goodbye, and Yang practically demanding that Blake message her as soon as possible, they were finally on their way back to the bus. Over the course of one night, everything had changed; she'd dealt with unfinished business she never knew she had, re-established contact with her dearest friend, and, quite possibly, was now in a relationship. That last one was still up in the air, but Weiss knew a lot more about her than she had a week ago.

And they had kissed. And _enjoyed_ it.

None of which she would think was alright for her if not for Blake. She was the one that encouraged Yang to take the leap, the one that had reassured her that dating a woman again wouldn’t be “backsliding”. Even if they missed the relationship that was, a good friend was back in her life. And Yang knew for damn sure she wasn't going to let her go again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little under-the-table teasing never hurt anyone! Also I'm sorry for taking a little longer with this one, I did promise to get the chapters up faster. Working on some other stuff - some of it for this very fic account! Everybody enjoy!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER WARNINGS: Grinding, foot play, exploring, cock worship.

**=Chapter 9**

Once they had regained the familiar surroundings of the bus and were making their way through local streets toward the highway - Interstate 55 South, as he had confirmed for them - Weiss felt more like she could relax. Of course, Yang was still on cloud nine from the restaurant, and reconnecting with Blake. But she couldn't keep herself from remarking on that situation.

"So," she said as she deposited her boots in her room. "You and Blake seemed to pick up right where you left off."

Sitting herself down to unzip her own, Yang could only sigh contentedly. It was true; she was far happier with her former friend now a current friend, and for having been able to unload all her inner thoughts to someone other than her client or her sister.

"Yeah." She grinned, kicking the boots off under the table. "I'm just so glad to have her back in my life, y’know?"

"I'm sure you are." Sitting primly in a seat somewhat close to her bodyguard, she crossed her legs and bobbed her calf up and down anxiously. Hopefully, the anxiety was baseless, but she had to make sure – and could tease her along the way. "You seemed a lot more comfortable hugging her than you did with whatever we were doing under the table."

At last, Yang was beginning to click on to what she was saying. With a quick glance toward the driver's cabin, solely to make sure the door for it was closed, she looked back over with a slight blush emerging. "Well, uh… yeah. Hugging a friend isn’t exactly grabbing her and running off to the bathroom for a quickie."

"You sure that's all it was? Hugging an old friend?" Weiss's glance looked casual, but clearly she was sizing Yang up – trying to tell how she was reacting. Seeing the blush in her cheeks at mentioning her teasing in the restaurant discouraged her from being more mean than was necessary.

"Why, someone getting jealous?" Even though she began to smirk when she looked back to the diva again, she saw that her expression was unchanged. She wasn't impressed. At all. Yang felt her confidence draining away once again as she hunched her shoulders. "C’mon, Weiss, we haven't seen each other for four whole years. Of course I was happy to see her again!"

"Well, you didn't have to hug her for so long." Even Weiss heard the petulance in her own voice that time; tossing her head, she sighed and said, "I'm glad you got back in contact. But it did make me wonder why you started the 'teasing war' right in front of her if you didn't want to keep it going."

"Y'really wanna know why I gave up so easy?" she asked, yet again double-checking the driver's door. Of course it wouldn't open within the space of a few seconds while they were barrelling down the interstate, but even so, this was now more than press coverage that was on the line. If the driver caught them discussing such things, there was nothing stopping him relaying it to Weiss's father – Yang's boss’s boss.

Once assured of their safety, she looked over again, an obvious redness to her cheeks. "Because I knew if I didn’t cut you off somehow, I wasn’t gonna be able to stand up to leave…"

That was the second time she had glanced toward the door to the driver's area. Lowering her voice, Weiss leaned in and said in a perfectly even tone, "You know, he can't walk right back here while he's driving the damn bus. But… we can lock the door if it'll make you more comfortable. I totally understand."

Yang laughed lightly at that comment. "It's not so much me mentioning it that's the problem, it's if he suspects we're fucking. Which, I know we're not, but locking the door isn't exactly gonna deflect a rumour, y'know?"

"That is true…" Her smile was lopsided, shy. Uncertain. "Do I really wake… _him_ up that easily? I was just reacting to you grabbing my rear end, not trying to… to create a _problem_ for you or anything."

Gradually, that confidence was beginning to come back. Even if she was obviously blushing. Pushing her chair up closer toward Weiss, she casually leaned in, resting her elbow on the table, head on her hand.

"I think you know how easy you wake him up, considering it only took what, two minutes of you on my lap?"

Pursing her lips, she turned a bit more toward Yang as she crossed her arms over her chest. An idea was coming to mind; a stupid one, but it was worth a shot. It would hurt so little if she turned out to be mistaken. "Really? It takes that little, does it?"

Then she raised the leg that was already crossed over the other until her toes were lightly brushing Yang's outer thigh. First steps; testing the waters.

Beginning to blush once more, Yang stared downward in mild shock at this developement. Said area of her leg was exposed, thanks to the shorts, so she felt the smoothness of her skin easily. Why was this feeling so good already? With a foot, of all things! Yang’s hands clasped the sides of the chair, as if bracing herself for what was to happen.

"Well… it depends who I'm with, too."

Seeing that it was actually working, Weiss smirked even more. "It being me makes that much difference?"

Slowly, her ankle raised over that thigh so her toes could tease the opposite one – on its inside. That easily, the first signs were showing; Yang's breath was starting to become shaky as she looked on, trying not to overreact. Unconsciously, she found her legs were also beginning to part, giving her more of an advantage, should she want to seize it.

As she felt the heat beginning to gather below, she swallowed, muttering under her breath, "It definitely does."

"This isn't as bad, though, is it?" Weiss asked as she continued to pet along the firm muscle, feeling soft, creamy flesh give so easily under her touch. "I mean, it's just my foot; nothing important."

But sure enough, as time progressed, it was starting to become more and more visible. And as one particular stroke upward went that bit further than the rest, Yang found herself beginning to shuffle her hips side to side. Although she was trying to make it less noticeable, it was having the opposite effect.

At long last, given that Weiss kept glancing at where she was petting to make sure she didn't accidentally scratch Yang or anything, she noticed the growing condition and raised an eyebrow at her. "Or… do you have a _thing?"_

“N-no, come on,” she laughed nervously, trying to play it cool. “Not me.”

“Somebody says otherwise,” Weiss purred, poking it very gently with her big toe. “Look how huge it’s getting.”

Tensing her grip in the chair, and curling her own toes against the rug, Yang was clearly trying to hold out for longer. But her temptress was simply too naturally adept! So much for taking this steady and playing safe. All she wanted to do was return the favour, take Weiss to the bedroom and show her what it was like to be teased… but that had to come on her own terms. Yang was playing it safe, allowing Weiss to call the shots on how far to go. After all, she was the virgin.

But that didn't mean she couldn't try and tempt her back. Perhaps one confession could start it. "This is only… semi…"

"Semi what?" Then she caught on, and her eyes went back to the shorts. "That's y-you at only, um… 'half-mast'?! Wow. I am impressed." Her cheeks pinkened slightly, even if they were nowhere near as red as Yang's. Then she licked her lips and pushed her foot over until it was just barely half an inch from the "semi" itself. "So… can I?"

This was the stage they were at last time: Weiss exploring. Sure, it was with her foot this time, but it was still the time when Yang managed to screw everything up by making assumptions. Not this time.

Parting her legs that bit further, she gave a small nod, half-closing her eyes and awaiting her fate.

So Weiss did something she had never expected to do in her life, whether it be for a man or for a special type of woman: pressed her sole gently against a budding erection. Even though it wasn't with her hand, which would have been a much better judge of sensation but also a _lot_ more forward of her , she could still feel how rigid it was, appreciate the cylindrical shape of the shaft. Her toes curled gently against the tip, and though she couldn't feel any fine details she could at least figure out where it ended. Her heel pushed into the buoyant sack very slightly, but she made sure not to grind any harder; allegedly, it was highly sensitive and should not be injured.

The sound that followed was one Weiss had heard most clearly when she was last sat on Yang's lap, grinding against the erection without her knowledge: a low, ill-restrained moan. And this was just Weiss's foot grinding against her! By instinct, she found her hips beginning to move forward, grinding the foot against her ever-growing sex as it became even firmer. Already, she was able to feel herself getting close to full strength. It really wouldn't be long at all.

Weiss found herself gulping when she could literally _feel_ the cock hardening, and could feel Yang thrusting against her. It was turning her on. Having her damn _foot_ dry-humped was actually pushing her buttons, crazy as that was!

"You like that?" she breathed nervously. "Well… there's more where that came from." Then, hoping she wasn't making a mistake, she lifted her other leg and trapped Yang's near-hard anatomy between both feet, pressing in just enough to give her something to thrust against.

"Holy shit…" Yang managed to mutter. Once more came the moaning as more pressure was added, and Yang had to firmly plant her feet on the ground to begin to thrust back against the soft-yet-firm resistence. She didn't just like it. Against all odds, even though it was such an unexpected part of Weiss’s body, she _loved_ it.

But such a love was only going to test their limits further. Even if it would be unintentional. She felt Weiss's toes curl on occasion with each thrust, and one such time, they managed to hook the top of her waistband. And alongside that, the pressure was moving the garment of her underwear against her. Finally, on one thrust when Weiss's toes pushed the band down that little bit, Yang's eyes suddenly snapped open wide when she felt something slip.

The very tip of 'him' had gotten loose.

Weiss noticed right around the time Yang did; she had been concentrating on the area so intently that she instantly noticed a small, reddish head peeking over the edge of the black waistband. They had both stopped their movements as it dawned on them what this meant: not everything was theoretical, or concealed, anymore.

"O-oh," Weiss finally breathed. "Well… there 'he' is."

Yang's hands left the sides of the chair, and went straight to cover her face instead. Along with the obvious arousal, she could only feel embarrassment. "I'm so sorry," she muttered, shuffling her hips again in some attempt to try and move her shorts back up.

"No, no," she breathed, touching the very tip with the same big toe she had poked her with before. "You're fine – it's… it's f-fine." Though she heard the nerves in her own voice, so she cleared her throat as she caressed down its entire length, most of it through the fabric. "Well… that is, I have been curious about seeing more…"

Although she didn't show her face, there was a quiet squeak when she felt her touching the head. Her own toes simply curled into the ground, somehow trying to blot out all the sensations that were all coming at once.

"N-no fair…"

Paying attention to every last involuntary reaction, Weiss finally lowered her feet and scooted forward until she was sitting right between Yang's knees, close but not too close. Her hands fell to laying gently on the tops of her bodyguard's thighs.

"Yang… are you sure you're okay with this? Because you're obviously turned on, but you also seem like you wanna throw up."

Finally, Yang was able to slow her breathing down, calming herself to a point when she could think. After all, that was extremely difficult when she had two teasing tootsies in her lap! When she was finally calm, she was able to uncover her face again, slowly looking up to the blue eyes that were gauging her reaction.

"I know… God, I'm sorry," she began, allowing one of her hands to fall on top of Weiss's, where she held it gently. "It's… been awhile for me. A-and it might seem weird, but you're the first woman I've done anything like this with while being… while being Yang."

"Oh… oh, that's right, you… didn't you say you've had a boyfriend before? Not before Blake, just before now." She was starting to ramble; into that, it was getting harder and harder for her to keep her eyes from drifting down to that tantalising little head. Even though she had never come into contact with one before, somehow it still called out to her. Made her want to test things.

"Yeah… a couple of flings here and there. Nothing major league." Just as it was becoming difficult for Yang to think, as well. Weiss was so close to her, and had been teasing so much. All she could think about was returning the favour. At least showing her _something._

"Hey, Weiss?" she asked, finally gathering the bravery to ask. "What about you? You're making me feel this good… don't you want me to, I dunno… clear your pipes, too?"

"NO!"

That single word fell like a lead weight in the middle of the room. After she heard how firm it sounded, how loud and unyielding, Weiss cleared her throat and scooted forward, sliding the hand that wasn't under Yang's a little bit further up.

"Wh-what I mean is… I wasn't through with you yet. Wasn't through getting to know you."

"O-Oh." Although the idea of letting Weiss have her way was appealing, Yang couldn't help but feel sorry for Weiss. She really was nervous about all this, or still questioning. But either way, she was to keep to her unspoken rule, allowing Weiss to take charge. And with that in mind, she sat back fully in the chair. "You’re the boss, I guess. Just be gentle."

Almost as if she were in a dream, the pop star felt herself falling to her knees in front of Yang where she sat in the chair; it wasn't something she had ever expected. Even in her wildest, half-afraid daydreams that she had allowed herself to imagine - most of them involving Neptune, though she would never admit that - she had only pictured kissing, or lying next to someone on a bed. Not kneeling in front of someone with their most intimate anatomy inches from her face…

The thick, hot erection was just on the other side of Yang's black shorts, and the head of it was visible. She desired to touch, to tease, but she had gone for the goal too fast before; Yang had done the same a moment later. Both of them went too fast, and they regretted it. Now, she was determined to take things slow. Therefore, she simply gazed up at Yang from her new position below her, panting anxiously.

 _‘No way…’_ It was all Yang could think to herself as Weiss positioned herself so closely. She knew exactly what was probably going to happen, considering the fact that Weiss's lips and the small escaping head were right on the same level.

Everything was moving so fast, and yet… it felt _right._ Crazy, but right.  To gesture her approval, she nodded, half-closing her eyes as she watched each movement.

By the time Weiss leaned in, she was trembling, but she forced herself to keep going. There was no turning back now. Her lips pushed into the thickness through the shorts first; it was safer, easier. Yet even that made her feel like she was committing the highest form of sin. Her heart beat faster, everything between her hips was tingling- but she couldn't think about that. All she could think about was the warmth pressing up against her mouth, then up against the side of her face when she turned her head just slightly enough that her nose was to one side. Why did she like this? Why did she _love_ the feeling of Yang's cock up against her face?

Right away, the bruiser’s violet eyes shot wide open again. Her petite client had her ways of surprising her, endlessly doing more to push herself beyond what Yang thought possible. Even if it was just a kiss, just resting her cheeks against fabric, it spoke volumes. A couple of days ago, she would have done no such thing.

"Mmm," Weiss heard herself moan against the presence, pushing her face from side to side slightly. Feeling it move. Even though she was still privately reeling at the fact that Yang actually had this in her pants, she was definitely less hesitant to come into contact with it now.

Which she showed a second later, when she slowly leaned up, kissing up its length until she was at the waistband. Then, steeling herself to weather the storm no matter how good or bad it turned out to be, she pressed her lips directly against the exposed pink head of the cock.

And Yang could only find her eyes completely falling shut. Unable to help herself, she quivered again the instant Weiss's lips touched the head. Even if it was for the briefest time, it was more than enough to coax another moan from her. One hand came to pet the top of Weiss's hair instead, softly stroking it as she made her movements on her.

The diva's body seized when she felt the hand on her head, but once it began to pet her she relaxed into it, closing her eyes for a moment. Why did that feel so good? No one really did that for her so it wasn't a sensation she was used to or anything.

Then she leaned in and kissed the head again. So salty and soft - and there was a strong aroma rising from the pliant surface that pleased her, even if she didn't quite understand why. A lot was confusing her today.

"Weiss…" she breathed ever so quietly, continuing to softly pet her hair as she kept kissing the most sensitive part of her sex. Was Weiss aware that was what it was as she kissed? It seemed like it from the attention she was giving.

Her spare hand went to her waistband. Although she made no effort to tug her shorts down just yet, she did toy with the idea. But would it make Weiss run a mile if she did?

When she pulled back from the kiss and saw Yang's hand on her waistband, she knew what she was thinking – and was thinking the same thing herself. Maybe she had run long enough. Hooking her own fingers on the other side, they began to slide them down together.

And then there it was. The majority of the shaft had freed itself from her underwear, which was now only covering the sensitive sack and the base. The thrusting against the feet had certainly brought it to its full length, along with all the kissing and teasing. Just as Weiss saw in their brief encounter, it was of a good size – average, she expected, since it didn’t seem particularly large or small. And it was aesthetically pleasing enough, as those things went. There was little wonder she didn't want to change her body if it was this beautiful.

All the while, the blush never moved from Yang’s face, nor did she open her eyes. There was a slight shame on her features, on herself for letting Weiss see her in this way. Would she decide she hated it? That she was a monstrosity, after all?

Weiss's fingers landed on its surface, testing the sensation and delighting in being able to do something like this with little-to-no judgement for her actions. It was so huge, so firm and strange! It wasn't as if she'd never seen one before, but the instances had usually been in a textbook, or her one annoying cousin who flashed her when they were small, just to see what she would do. This was her first in-person contact with an erect, adult phallus, and she was fascinated.

But when she looked up to ask Yang if she could do more, she saw the expression. The embarrassment, the self-awareness that she wasn't quite "normal" - and that she was exposed in front of someone she liked. A tiny pinprick of panic exploded in her chest, but she forced that down. She might not know how to handle a lot of things, but this was something for which she instinctively had a plan.

"It's so pretty," she breathed directly onto the skin of the cock, kissing the underside of the shaft this time.

This time, Yang tried to bite her lip in order to suppress the moan that came forth from her. Weiss had now kissed the shaft itself and the head. She somehow could guess where this was going, that Weiss was going to push her limits, kiss more of it. Maybe even take it into her mouth…

That was a sensation she couldn't even remember feeling. The only person in her dating history who had ever let their mouth be in contact with that part of her anatomy was Blake, and that was far before their break up. She barely knew what to even do in the situation, other than try and calm herself down. Which she did, slowly letting her legs ease apart further to give more access, forcing air into her lungs and letting it out gradually enough so that her extremities tingled.

The encouragement - bodily, if not with words - did surprise the anxious pop star quite a bit. Yang really seemed to like it when she touched it, and the kisses even more. She'd heard of a couple of things that a girl could do for a guy in this position… and even though Yang wasn't a guy, those were her best frame of reference. But what if they weren't true?

Only one way to find out. Very slowly, her fingers began to drift up and down the sides of the entire length, not pressing in terribly hard but testing the sensation for both of them.

Finally allowing her eyes to flutter open again was a mistake. Now she could see everything that was happening firsthand: Weiss's hand steadily moving up and down her length, the ripples of pleasure flowing through her body as she did so, and her gorgeous face a mere inch away. How did she figure this out so quickly?

"Hmmhh…" she moaned out through her nostrils, watching each and every movement Weiss made. She really was enjoying this more than she wanted to admit.

"That's… good?" she whispered softly as she began to make surer movements, feeling how hot the flesh was, how it seemed to grow yet more heated and rigid with her stroking. "Are… you sure? I've never done this before - well, obviously I haven't, I've never had a boyfriend. N-not that you're a boy! I didn't mean it like that!"

Yang grimaced. It was hard to think rationally with a hand around her cock, even if it wasn't pumping hard. But yet again came the comments to do with boys – exactly what she was scared to hear. Bringing a hand on top of hers to stop her pumping any further for a second, she fixed her with a level gaze.

"J-just, uh, please… don't compare me to boys. Okay?"

Before, Weiss had only winced when she heard her own words. Now she looked frightened, chagrined. Horrified. "I… I didn't mean… I was only talking about where I might have seen one before, or touched, and the only place I could have was…" Gulping, she kissed the back of Yang's hand, and hard. "I'm sorry. Yang, I- I really am."

Now she had regained her breath, she allowed herself to smile again, letting her thumb gently brush the top of Weiss's hand. "It's okay… not that big a deal. You’re doing fine." And then she leaned back again, pushing herself up against Weiss's hand. "But if you want more advice… it’s not gonna break. You can get a little… rougher. Add some pressure."

"More…" After thinking about that for an instant, letting her fear of having made a mistake fade a little at a time, she wrapped all of her fingers around it more tightly - as if she were grasping a microphone. "Like this?" Her hand dragged up and down it once, experimenting.

And instantly Yang was unwinding again, head lolling back. _"Muuuuuch_ better…" She couldn't help it. By instinct, she found her hips pushing forwards into the hand, trying to push more of herself into Weiss's hand, seeking more friction. Biting her lip once again, she let out yet another satisfied moan upon feeling Weiss's hand pumping the shaft.

Both of Weiss's blue eyes went round as dinner plates at the sight before her; Yang was literally thrusting into her hand as if it were a bodily orifice to be entered! Was this what it would be like if they…

No, that thought couldn't be contemplated. Too far, too soon. Instead, she simply concentrated on stroking her new lover, finding a rhythm in which her hand could move so that it didn't feel awkward to either of them. It was two parts letting Yang do as she wished, and one part moving her hand very slightly in the opposite direction the cock was moving at that moment. Not exactly rocket science, but there was an art to their cooperation.

Once they got their rhythm, the rest fell into place easily. They found their harmony that was making Yang's pleasure build more and more, forcing out more moans from her mouth. When one particular thrust had her moan out a little too loudly, she had to quickly bring her hand back up to cover her mouth, taking a quick gaze over at the door to check once again. It didn't budge.

And after a few minutes of this movement, she had to fight the urge to close her legs back in, feeling the knotting in her stomach. "I-I…" She was trying to mutter, but it was too much. _All_ of it was too much – and way too soon. Was she really about to burst?

The hand trailing up and down the inside of Yang's thigh halted, even if the other kept up its continual stroking. "Yeah, baby?" Weiss breathed, testing the sound of that term on her tongue. It seemed to fit the situation, even if it didn't sound entirely natural coming out of her mouth. "You okay? You like me doing this for you?"

"I'm… shit, I'm gonna….!"

But her words arrived too late. Only a few seconds later, Yang found herself bringing her legs back in, her body shuddering as she gasped rather loudly, arcing her back in pure pleasure. She’d never felt that good in her _life._

Then came the more shameful aspect of her anatomy. In Weiss's hand, her length began to throb harshly, and the end expelled a hefty amount of sticky white seed – some of which landed back into Yang's stomach, some landing on Weiss's hand. A small amount fired upward so hard it landed on Weiss's cheek. An unfortunate consequence of Yang being unable to tell her in time.

"A-AH!" Weiss's head snapped back in complete and total surprise, but she managed to maintain her grip as Yang finished. Even though yes, she technically knew that this was the eventual result for pleasuring someone with such an organ, it wasn't a result she had personal experience with. And to have it shoot up at her face that way! Part of her was turned on by having seen it happen, but mostly, she was quite weirded out by this whole ordeal.

"Oh my GOD…" Coming down from her orgasm at last, Yang finally noticed where some of the seed hit, and knew it had hit Weiss in the face by her reaction.

“Oh no!” First thing was first, she grabbed a tissue from the nearby box, wiping off the top of her head before she could tuck it back into her underwear and her shorts, and then grabbed a couple more. One for her, one for Weiss. "I am so sorry!” she told her shyly, leaning forward to try and see where exactly it landed.

"No, it's… no. You're fine. That was… just what happens when you…" She wasn't moving, and was trembling like a leaf. "When you do what we just did. Um… out of curiosity, what exactly _did_ we just do?"

"We… um…" Moving Weiss's hair out of the way so she could get to her cheek properly, she gently wiped away the white fluid with great care. She then moved on to the small amount that had landed on her hand. "You… got me off."

"I did?" Then a nervous smile started spreading across her face. "I did. Hey, that's a good thing, right? I got you off on the first try!"

"Shhh!" With the unused hand, she covered Weiss's mouth, yet again gazing toward the door. Even though the obvious red in her cheeks would give anything away easily, and her giddy smile that went along with it. "Yeah… you definitely choked my chicken, alright. That was… _wow_."

"And you… you got on my face," she added softly, brushing a hand over the spot where the blonde's essence had graced her moments ago. The hand trembled, as did her bottom lip. "Is it really horrible of me to say that… I didn't mind? Because I feel like that means I'm some kind of kinky freak, but seriously, it wasn't bad or gross at all, and… and I…"

"It's not that weird." Grasping one more tissue, she wiped away the last bit of seed from her stomach, soon tossing all three into the small bin by the door. Then as she tucked herself away again, she whispered, "But you… what?"

"It was kinda hot!" After blurting out the truth, she buried her face in her hands and fell onto her side, blushing furiously. "Don't look at me!"

It wasn't at all the response she expected. Since her transition, she was used to people cringing at the thought, or even looking away while it happened. This was the first time anyone actually described what happened as appealing. "Really? Hot?!"

"Yes," Weiss sighed, still hiding her face. "And I'm still kind of offended that it happened, because it seems so… degrading, in a way. But thinking about the proof of you getting off being right there on my face… I don't know! It's weird, right? Really weird - I'm certifiably bonkers!"

"It's actually… flattering." Now Yang was looking away, trying to hide the obvious shame in her face. Someone like her, a girl with a penis, surely shouldn't find this such a good thing to hear. "You wanna hear something weird?" she asked, managing to just look back. "You're actually the first person to do that since Blake…"

That prompted Weiss to look up from her position on the floor – and she saw Yang averting her eyes. "Really? Oh… I guess when you were dating guys, they wouldn't want to do that, huh?" Then she sat up slightly, legs still out to one side. "Did, um… okay, again I'm really sorry about terminology and such. But did they, like, actually get your dick off? Or did they just get off themselves and leave you high and dry?"

Yang tucked the few stray strands of hair behind her ear, then began scratching the back of her head nervously. "Sometimes I would go to town on myself. Y'know, while we were screwing… but on the times I didn't, they'd leave me to finish myself. Which is kinda rude, I know. Some guys are just jerks."

"Probably made them feel gay," Weiss sighed in disgust at the thought of them. "Which isn't really fair, since it's just… you know, a thing. Which is not who you are. And how dare they finish and not help you finish, that's just _too_ unfair!"

Yang could only roll her eyes, smiling at how cute Weiss’s indignation was. "Life's unfair sometimes. That's why I try not to be the unfair one. Speaking of which…"

Getting out of her chair, Yang sat herself down by Weiss's side. Making sure to look into the orbs of blue, she rested one of her hands on top of Weiss's thigh, slowly running it up and down. Maybe she wasn't ready for anything direct, but she could at least try little things to test her feeling.

"Oh," Weiss breathed nervously as Yang began petting her. "It's… you said 'unfair', and now - OH." Her face was as red as it had been when she admitted she didn't hate the feeling of Yang's juices on her face. "W-well, if- well."

"You can tell me to stop, at any time," she reassured, continuing the gradual movements up and down her thigh, letting her other hand rest on the opposite one to mirror the motions. She never once shifted her gaze. "And I won't go any further until you give me the green light. All you, boss."

However, though this reassurance didn't scare her off, it did seem to make her blush worse. The tingling that had started during her servicing of Yang's flesh redoubled, and she slowly clenched her thighs together, even though she didn't stop Yang from caressing her skin.

Gradually, Yang's hands were drifting to her inner thighs instead, brushing back and forth over the soft flesh. She hoped it would get her used to what was to come, that she would be curious to what more would feel like. To test it even more, one particular stroke was starting to push her skirt upward a little.

"Is this okay?" she whispered.

Licking her lips, Weiss glanced down at Yang's hands briefly, then shut her eyes again. She was shaking so badly, but she knew she didn't hate the feeling of Yang teasing her. In fact, it was fantastic! But it also frightened her, even if she wasn't frightened of Yang specifically.

"I… I think…"

With that slight encouragement, Yang brushed her hand even further up, gently pushing her skirt upward even more to stroke the top of her inner thighs. She didn't turn her eyes that way yet, assuming it would only scare Weiss if she did. But she never stopped. If anything, she wanted to add more.

"Do you want to kiss me?" she asked, thinking it would help ease her nerves.

"I think I… I really need…" Swallowing, she took a few quick, shallow breaths before squeezing her eyes shut and squeaking, "I th-think I need to use the restroom!"

Then poor, inexperienced Weiss Schnee was up and tearing through the bus, slamming the door to the lavatory closed behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to our beta for this fic, CoNzz! Well, it happened already, but it still deserves mention! Hope you all have a great Valentine's Day!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (SPOILERS IN THE CHAPTER WARNINGS)  
> THIS CHAPTER: Blow job. Also it’s a bit longer.

**=Chapter 10**

Everything happened before Yang could even blink. Within a couple of seconds, Weiss had gone from writhing beneath her exploring touches to vanished, presumably to hide from the reality of what had just happened. For a pop star who had thousands of fans who would want her in that manner, she never expected THE Weiss to be so on edge about this. But what could she do? She couldn't expect things to resume as they were when she'd come back out, nor could she push again. Things had to happen at her own pace.

After a couple of minutes, she paced toward the bathroom and knocked. "Are you okay?"

"No!" Weiss sobbed through the thin material of the door. "I'm a failure!"

"A fai- What?! Why are you a failure?" When all she received through the door was more sobs, her heart sank. "Because you're not ready? That doesn’t make you a failure at all!"

"But you're so beautiful, and so good to m-me, and I like how you make me feel, and I should j-just be able to… but I don't know, I'm so scared of how it's going to feel! Which is stupid!"

"Hey, hey. You really think I’m _expecting_ anything?" Sensing this was going to take a while, she leaned against the wall beside the door, just as Weiss had done for her so recently. "You think I'm gonna high-tail it outta here because we're not going at the speed of sound?"

"No! But I should be able to get through you touching my legs w-without…" A couple more deep breaths, with a hint of sobbing around the edges of them. "Without almost peeing my pants, okay?!"

"Oh…" Yang couldn't help but feel secondhand embarrassment from that comment, hunching her shoulders slightly. "You almost- okay, that’s okay! So what? Everybody gets scared their first time! You know that, right? Not everyone can hit the ground running, and some people take longer than others. Having a couple butterflies is nothing to be ashamed of, okay?"

There was a pause as Weiss considered that. "But there is, when… when I actually was liking the feeling. You touching me, it's nice, I- even at that mundane restaurant, when you were grasping my behind! It was a little scary, but exciting! So why… why can't I let you do more? Makes me feel like the silliest person ever!"

"All that means is you aren’t as ready as I was. Doesn’t make you ‘silly’ or whatever." Yang took in a deep, steadying breath. "If the most you wanna do is spoon, that's fine. Even if that ends up being the furthest we go from now on, and you never get me off again, or anything. Because I…" Pausing for a moment, she debated whether or not to finish that sentence. But after taking a calming breath, she went through with it. "Because I want a relationship way more than I want sex. Banging is just a bonus."

The bus was quiet for a minute. Then the toilet flushed, there was the sound of rushing water, and then the door popped open. Weiss's cheeks were quite blotchy from crying, and still a bit red from embarrassment. Standing upright again, Yang waited there a moment, not wanting to step closer or walk away just in case.

"Um, I really did need to go." Then she cleared her throat. "And… are you serious? I can't believe you want a relationship with me, even after I keep saying the wrong things about your gender, and ran away like a coward when you tried to… to make me feel good! Plus, acting jealous about Blake - what was up with _that?!"_

“So maybe you’re tossing together a couple servings of word salad here and there," she agreed with a soft chuckle. "But you've learned, and are learning. That's what's important to me."

"I'm doing my best," she replied in the most sober voice she could as she reached up to clutch at Yang's shirt collar with a shaking hand. "Honestly. I… I'm still completely shocked that I'm even in a relationship – or starting one, or whatever! With a woman! Who… is trans!" One of her eyebrows lowered slightly. "That's the right term, isn't it?"

"It is." Raising a hand to gently cup Weiss's face, she tried to tilt it so she would look up to her eyes, leaning in slightly. "Trust me, I’m losing my shit, too. But we can figure this out together, can’t we?"

Nodding, Weiss fell forward until she was leaning her head against Yang’s chest. "We will. I'm… looking forward to it, actually."

"Same here." She wrapped her arms around the smaller woman, softly petting her hair. An idea came to mind. If she couldn't pamper the heiress sexually, there were other ways she could. Through actions. Like surprising her. And she knew just how to do it.

"How long till we get to St Louis, by the way?"

"Well… if I could guess, I'd say probably another five hours, maybe more." Then Weiss pulled back to look up at the blonde, a dubious expression in place. "Why…?"

"You didn't get to shower before breakfast."

"You could have just told me I smell bad." Sticking out her tongue, she turned and began to pace into the bedroom to get a change of clothing. "You sure you don't want another one, too? I kind of… made a mess earlier."

Yet again, the blush returned to the blonde's cheeks, and she smiled shyly. "Sure did… but maybe later." Just before Weiss went to enter the bathroom, she stopped her to plant a small kiss on her cheek. "I'll have something ready for when you come out, okay?"

"Ooh, a surprise," she hummed, with something like her usual self-assuredness as she passed her clothes from one hand to the other. "Well, we will just have to see what you prepare for me. Though I've been told I'm quite hard to please sometimes." With a small smile still on her face, she then slipped into the bathroom and shut the door gently.

Instantly, Yang went to work. First, she gathered both hers and Weiss's boots, putting them both in one place under the table so they were out of the way, then corrected the chairs. There was no harm in tidying the place up when it could only put her in Weiss's good books.

"I really hope she likes this though," she muttered to herself, heading to the _now shared_ bedroom – which was still blowing her mind, she was sharing a bedroom with _THE_ Weiss – to finish the rest of her plan, no matter how ridiculous it was going to seem. She didn’t know of many things she could do while they were in the bus that Weiss would enjoy, apart from one of the simpler time-killing methods: watching a movie together.

As she neatened up the sheets, she pushed as many pillows up against the wall as she could, even finding a few spare from under the bed to add to the collection. More than enough to make a comfortable area for them to lounge. Then she grabbed her laptop from the main room, plugging the charger into the nearest power socket and setting it up at the end of the bed.

“There!” she sighed in satisfaction, hands on her hips as she surveyed her work. All she could do now was wait for Weiss to return.

Moistened from her bathing and clad in soft blue cotton shorts and a white t-shirt that said "Weiss Cold" in a stylized font, the diva turned away from her room at first and said, "Yang?" But it didn't take long to discover that there was no one in the living room, so she quickly padded in the other direction.

"Oh! Hey, what's all this?"

"A little in-flight entertainment." She had laid herself in the corner, patting the area by her side to invite the diva to cuddle up by her side. Already the media player was at full screen, ready to play as soon as the space bar was pressed. "Or more, uh, in- _bus_ entertainment, I guess… but yeah! You said you've never seen the Marvel movies, right?"

"Afraid I haven't," she said with a coy little smile as she began to crawl along the bed, catlike. "But something tells me I'm about to see one of them." Once reaching Yang's side, she touched their noses together with a look of impish glee. "Hi."

"Myello." She grinned, nuzzling her nose back and forth over hers until she sat back to get comfortable. Once she was, she leaned forward to hit the space bar before quickly returning to cuddle by Weiss's side. "I hope you like Downey Jr, since we're about to watch _Iron Man_."

"He is sexy," Weiss sighed. "Sexiest man alive." For a few seconds, she fell into a contemplative silence until she added, "And, um… you're the sexiest woman alive."

Then she winced, as if waiting to find out the line was too cheesy to be allowed. But Yang didn’t seem to mind. She simply nuzzled against Weiss's side even more, whispering once close enough, "Back at ya."

After five minutes, they had settled into a comfortable position. Weiss had rested her head on Yang's shoulder, nuzzling up against her side, hand draped across the bodyguard’s chest, while Yang's arm was on Weiss's side, moving up and down gradually. In all honesty, she was too comfortable to do anything more.

Another ten minutes along in the story, Yang's hand drifted a bit lower to land on her hindquarters, and she favoured her with a wry grin. "Seems like you're a fan of that area, aren't you?"

"Well, yeah; Stark's place looks fuckin' sweet. If I could afford my own place, I would _so_ model it on…" When she saw Weiss looking up at her with more of a seductive smirk than anything else, she finally realised, and right away moved her hand back up, somewhat afraid she had stepped over the line. "Oh! W-Well I, uh… yeah, I'm a fan, but… sorry."

Laughing openly at the misunderstanding, she kissed Yang's cheek as they both looked back toward the movie. "Don’t worry about it. You’re right, it’s an attractive house; very modern."

From that point, however, her legs became slightly more restless. Another fifteen minutes and Weiss’s thighs were rubbing together constantly, even though she was making no other obvious show that she was uncomfortable for any reason – simply lying against Yang's warm torso, occasionally leaning over for a quick peck.

Yang sighed contentedly, smiling happily each time Weiss pecked at her cheek. Even if they weren't exactly fully engrossed in the movie, she was enjoying every moment cuddled up to her. Yet again, her hand was beginning to drift lower, unconsciously, stroking up and down her rear.

After a while of her shifting, she noticed and asked, "You okay?"

"Hmm?" Shifting her entire body, she slipped one of her knees on top of Yang's as she attempted to settle. "Yeah, completely. Thanks." Then she felt the hand slide up away from her rear again, and grasped it to put it back down there. "And I meant it; you're fine, Yang. It's not a problem."

For a while, they both ignored the situation; there was less expectation for anything to happen than there was directly after she had helped Yang “purge the urge”, and therefore she could continue to enjoy the cuddle session. Besides, with a movie playing in the background, she had something else on which to focus the lion's share of her attention.

Then she began to notice her legs moving restlessly again. Her thighs twitching toward each other, even if she wasn't quite smashing them together. Taking a shaky breath, she shifted her hips back and forth as she failed to get entirely comfortable.

Once noticing this movement while her hand was particularly high on her leg, Yang couldn't help but look down toward it. Was it for comfort, or was it because her body was craving more? To answer her question, her hand began to gradually drift upward yet again 'by accident', brushing just below the fabric of her shorts… testing the waters without being _too_ bold.

A shaky breath was expelled from Weiss's nostrils immediately. She didn't otherwise react, either positively or negatively… not even clamping her legs shut. Yang maintained a passive interest in these reactions. None were negative yet; the diva’s gaze hadn't even shifted from the TV. It bore further testing. With that in mind, her hand drifted higher again, continuously stroking even firmer through her clothes as she leant her head in, beginning to press soft kisses against her neck.

The kisses prompted a few quiet sighs, but she didn't otherwise react to the thigh-petting; just kept watching the movie. That is, until Yang brushed a bit higher and happened to slightly graze her centre.

 _"Oh!"_ she half-whispered.

Yang paused for a moment. Maybe that was too far, too soon. "You okay?"

"Yeah," she reassured Yang with a small smile. "N-no big deal. I'll just… I'll go back to watching the movie."

Why didn't she ask her to stop? Or to keep going? These were complete mysteries to Weiss, but she knew that if she didn't explicitly stop her, there was the _chance_ that she might keep going. And that was a possibility she was very curious to explore, now that things weren’t quite so heated.

And Yang was also very keen to explore. This time, the hand was finally raising that bit higher. Now she really was testing the waters as her hand hit home, beginning to rub very delicately between her legs. No pressure applied whatsoever; all she wanted was to see just how the diva would react, and if she really could return the favour, after all.

Both of Weiss's eyes fluttered closed for a second or two. Maybe this wasn't so bad. Maybe she could tolerate this feeling if done through the veil of cotton. Opening her eyes again to fixate them on the screen, she was very careful to ease her legs open less than an inch - just enough so that it was abundantly clear she was NOT closing them more. And she could always do so if things got to be too much for her, couldn't she?

That was the green light Yang needed; acceptance of her advances. Smiling to herself, Yang pressed yet more kisses against the diva's delicate neck, over and over, not stopping once. The hand began to apply more pressure until she was very easily able to feel every contour of the soft flesh below the fabric, and began to stroke the length of it as best she could.

Unbeknownst to Yang, her blue eyes shot as wide as they could when she felt Yang beginning to stroke her in earnest. This time, however, she did not let herself react or protest. The feeling was so good, and even though she felt such a strong urge to put a stop to it because it was new and alien to her, she shut that instinct down. This time, she was going to revel in the pleasure. And so she did, rolling her hips slightly up against the probing fingers as they brought further heat to her fragile flesh, trying her best not to be too obvious that she was responding. After all, they had some kind of unwritten code in this moment, didn't they? Weiss wouldn't be too obvious if Yang wouldn't. It was working so far.

Of course, Yang had picked up on that. Even if they weren't saying it outright, she knew Weiss was itching for more contact, trying to gather more and more. And she was more than willing to oblige. This time, her middle finger slid in front of the rest, pressing more firmly into what was between the softer skin and picking up in speed. All the while, she kept peppering her neck with kisses, even moving up her jawline slowly.

The kisses helped drastically in terms of balancing out Weiss's reticence; quelled the spikes of fear that made her want to flee the room again. How could one finger trailing up and down her lower lips feel this good – and _through_ her shorts, no less?! Her breath slowly grew more ragged as Yang teased her, and she found herself clutching at the blonde's back for stability.

"You liking this?" she asked the diva, only to re-attach her lips to her neck again, continuing to pepper her all over with kisses. The stroking increased its pace, and fingers began to stroke slightly higher instead. Moving her middle finger even more forward than the rest, she sought out that particular cluster of nerves at the top of those lips, attempted to brush against it as much as she could through the layers of fabric. Maybe that was a first, as well; only Weiss knew for sure.

Every breath shaky, Weiss nodded numbly as she was teased beyond her tolerance levels – but forced herself to override those warnings in her head, the ones telling her she was doing something "sinful". That thinking had earned her nothing but a lonely life thus far. She wanted to enjoy herself. Therefore, when Yang found the bump at the apex of her sex, she only let out a quavering gasp, finally allowing her legs to fall open completely. How could it be so good?! It was impossible! All this time she had spent running from the pleasures of the flesh, and they were the most fun you could have!

"Oh hellooo…" Yang had been right about Weiss’s level of experience. As she began to rotate her fingers slowly, trying to circle the bundle of nerves as best she could, she kept a close watch on how Weiss was reacting to it all. Shaky gasps and breathing, the odd quiver every now and again. But what if she were to moan? To really moan, just like Yang did when she was reaching her end? Yang was curious enough to request it specifically.

"We're all the way in the back of the bus, all the doors closed," she whispered, pressing in particularly hard that time. "Moan for me…"

Wide-eyed, Weiss glanced at the door to her bedroom. She actually had closed it. Why? It wasn't as if they planned to do this… or was it? Had Yang intended from the beginning to tease her flesh this way? Did it matter anymore?

Not particularly. Now she was completely given over to the sensation of a finger circling what she suspected was her clitoris – she had never taken a look on her own body to double-check if she even had one, but this _had_ to be it. The moans were coming, and they were coming because of that tiny button of sensitivity. But she couldn't do that! She didn't know how she would sound!

"Y-Yang!" she panted, quiet, reserved. "I… wh-what if… I s-sound- NNHhh!! What if I sound stupid?!"

"You won't," Yang reassured her in a gentle tone. Her spare hand had managed to wriggle its way out from underneath her to pet her hair again as she continued those tantalising movements over her sex. On occasion, her finger curled, just enough so she could both grind into her clit with the base of it, and then push against where she assumed the entrance would be with the tip. Each and every stroke was ending up that way, pushing against Weiss through clothes. This would do, until she was ready to remove them herself.

But of course, that was the last thing on Weiss's mind. With Yang's insistence that she would sound fine, and her hand's insistence that she find out post haste, Weiss began to buck a little harder against the movements. At first, she let out a few more quiet squeaks, unable to leap straight to expressing herself fully. Then…

Then she came undone. One particularly pointed circling of her clit dragged the first loud moan from her throat, and after that it was all downhill. Weiss was wailing like a banshee, flipping between wordless noises and phrases like "OH GOD!" and "YANG!" One of her hands fell to push Yang's hand harder against her through the shorts as she writhed and moaned in pleasure.

"That's it… you sound _beautiful_ ," Yang continued to encourage, even as Weiss was getting louder and louder by the second. Sure, the doors would suppress the sound, but it wasn't completely soundproof!

And yet, the very idea of getting Weiss off while the driver was blissfully unaware was making Yang feel hot under the collar by the second. Even if she probably wouldn’t be ready for a second round herself, that didn’t mean there weren’t stirrings; she was with _Weiss._ What body could resist that?

Still, as fun as this was above her clothes, she wanted to see if Weiss would want more. Leaning right against her ear, she began to whisper as their pace continued, "You really like this, don't you? Wouldn't you like my hand inside your shorts, doing this against one less layer of fabric? What about even inside your panties? I could test how ready for me you _really_ are."

It was an admirable attempt – one that had an effect Yang probably had not been expecting. The mere suggestion of going further, of somehow increasing the already-blistering heat between Weiss's trim thighs… it was more than the girl’s newly-awakened libido could handle. Yang was only trying to offer further services, but to the inexperienced pop star, such words and the ideas attached to them were the equivalent of the most decadent "dirty talk" she'd ever heard.

Weiss Schnee climaxed with the force of a freight train. Both arms wrapped around Yang as she quivered and shook, and then released as she flew backward and began to flail, all of her limbs moving spasmodically, one hand and all toes clutching at the sheets for dear life.

It was the last thing Yang expected! She'd been with women before and gotten them off with her hands several times, sure, but never through layers of clothing. Yet seeing Weiss in such a state, such a flawless princess, still fully clothed yet coming undone… it was the most erotic thing she had ever witnessed. And she tried to continue it as long as she could, circling the clit with each flail of her legs, allowing her to ride out every last wave of pleasure on her hand until she was worn out.

A minute or so passed of Weiss simply panting and staring at the ceiling, owl-eyed and in complete shock at what had happened. That was her first orgasm. Her first orgasm was given to her by a trans woman, who was her employee, _in a moving vehicle,_ through her clothing! Needless to say, none of this was how she had pictured her first time.

But it was no less beautiful. Even though she was still reeling with disbelief, she found it was as glorious as she could have hoped. Rolling slightly to her side, she caught Yang's lips with her own, hungrily kneading against them. She had to show Yang how much she loved what she did for her – how she appreciated her willingness to try again.

Gracefully, Yang accepted with equal intensity. Her arms wrapped around her properly, the 'less sinful' hand reaching up to pet her hair as she held her close. This really wasn't a dream; she really was the first person to ever touch Weiss. _The_ Weiss. In all her life, she never imagined herself in this situation.

When Weiss rolled on top of her, however, she could feel something pressing into her thigh. Before, she might have ignored that, not understanding what it was, but that ship had sailed an hour or two ago.

"Ooh," she breathed, pulling back to gaze down into Yang's violet orbs with a wicked gleam in her own. "Someone's awake again."

Biting her lip again, Yang looked downward in the direction of the friction between them. Now that she was more aware, the pop star was rubbing herself against it deliberately, doing more to ensure it stayed awake rather than drifted off. Never in a million years did Yang imagine she'd be so turned on this soon after Weiss had gotten her off the first time!

"Yep," she confessed with a little roll of her hips. Just seeing what Weiss might do. "I said it'd been a while, right? Probably got some kind of… orgasm backlog."

"I could…" Her hand slid down over one of Yang's breasts as she continued to writhe gently against the erection. Pausing there, she giggled and whispered, "Oh wow, these are nice – they feel totally natural! Whoever did your work, I want their name to recommend to my friends!"

But Yang didn’t seem to appreciate that comment. Instead of either moaning from the touch, or responding to the words, she simply frowned up at her. Slowly, Weiss's smile faded, and her eyes lowered as she said, "Sorry, I didn't… I just was interested."

She took her hand away and hovered over Yang, holding perfectly still. Waiting for a reprimand, or an argument of some kind. After a minute of silence, Yang took Weiss's hand into hers, lifting it back up again to place it back where it was, on top of her breast.

"Hey. Don’t have to look like you just ran over my dog. I know you're trying, and you’re doing pretty okay so far, but… just imagine it was the other way around. You wouldn't like me feeling yours saying 'wow, I thought these were fake', right?"

"I wasn't saying they were fake!" Weiss burst out shakily, her voice imploring Yang to understand. "I'm… obviously they're real; I can touch them, tease them." Her hand began to knead gently. "If you still want me to. But if you don’t…"

Watching as Weiss began to settle into a small rhythm, her eyes were beginning to flutter shut again. It was exactly what she wanted, of course; however, she never let go of Weiss's hand just yet, squeezing slightly to keep her attention.

"Hell yeah, I want it. But in the future… y’know, that kind of stuff, wait for me to bring it up, okay? Because we can totally talk about it, but in the bedroom, it's kind of a mood-killer. That’s all. Not a big deal, but I thought you’d probably rather know than not know."

Sighing through her nose, Weiss nodded her head against Yang's chin for a few seconds. Collecting herself; recovering from her mistake. Yang was being so understanding, trying to explain how she felt about her transition, and Weiss kept blurting out disastrous comments left and right. She didn’t deserve that much consideration.

Then she pulled back and kissed Yang urgently, kneading the flesh hard as her tongue sought out Yang's. The only way she could make it up to her now was to make her feel as good as possible. Talking about more touchy subjects could come afterward. Her bodyguard eagerly accepted, hand rising back into her hair to hold her in place, mouth opening wide to eagerly knead their lips and press their tongues together. Her spare hand left Weiss's and went to grasp the back of her shirt, bunching up the fabric in her hand as she writhed back and forth beneath her. Hips bucking up to push herself against Weiss's thigh while she enjoyed the touch of her hand on her breast.

The closer the thrusting of Yang's erection came to her own centre, the worse Weiss felt about her comments. Of course they had seemed innocent enough to her – because she wasn't thinking. Now she found herself torn between her urgent need to explore Yang's body – and let Yang explore hers – and her guilt over nearly screwing everything up yet again.

So she began to nudge Yang's shirt up, as well, and shivered slightly when she felt their stomachs come into contact with each other. Pulling away, she let out a shaky breath as she looked down at Yang.

"Wouldn't you like to feel my hand doing this… through one less layer of fabric?" she partially echoed Yang from moments ago.

Breathily sighing, Yang's eyes fluttered shut. As shy as she was about her body, she trusted Weiss wasn’t going to ridicule her on purpose. They were just learning each other; the difference was, Weiss had a few more things to learn along the way. Patience was key. Holding up her arms to make Weiss's task even easier, she nodded.

Biting her lip, Weiss's fingers curled under the fabric of the shirt and began to draw it upward an inch at a time. The glimpse she'd seen before had looked nice, but she still wasn't sure how she felt about seeing them in the first place – after all, she had always felt nervous looking at anyone else’s bodies; she had been taught by her father that it was a private thing. But before Yang came into her life, someone else’s naked body had never made her feel _aroused_.

Then the shirt was off, and she was gazing down at two very sizable mounds. Each one had a pert little pink nipple in the centre – and she was fairly stunned that they were so large, given that they were created from a previously "male" chest. Even knowing the thin scars below them helped to contribute to their size did nothing to detract from how beautiful they were, and she found herself automatically drifting a hand down to caress the side of one.

As soft fingertips caressed her breasts, Yang could only continue to lay her head back. In her time of having them, a few people had braved themselves enough to touch them, but not enough for her to remember what the sensation was like. She remembered when they first came into existence, that once the scars began to heal, there was a numbness to them. One that worried her for when she ever did get a lover. But now it was different. Now she'd had years to fully heal, years to regain the nerves below. And feeling another woman's hands kneading into her soft flesh was enough to make her hum contentedly.

The quiet hum encouraged Weiss; this was going much better now, she was doing things right! Smiling more to herself than to Yang, she leaned down and kissed directly between them, feeling the warmth on either side of her face and privately loving that. At that moment, Yang took the time to finally look downward at where Weiss was – and didn't regret it one bit. In fact, she could only chuckle to herself.

"You seem at home between those."

Raising her head up slightly, Weiss looked more than a little abashed. “Well… they’re warm. Look, I’ve only been a lesbian for like, ten minutes. Forgive me if I do some awkward things!”

"No no, I'm not trying to give you hell. There's just a temptation to…"

Before she could even explain what she was doing, her hands had come back down, only to quickly push both of her breasts inward toward Weiss's face, squishing it between them. "There we go! Now it's _super_ gay."

“AH!” Weiss gasped out, both of her arms flying out to either side, her face trapped. “YANG! Wh-what ish the meanig of thish?!”

But all the while, Yang was just laughing, occasionally moving them up and down to deliberately rub them against Weiss's face. Even if it felt odd to be taunting her, that was her prime goal. "Sooooo gaaaaay…"

The conflict in the young diva's face was clear and unmistakable; she was not used to being teased by anyone. Not even Winter, who had long ago "outgrown" teasing. Yet here she was, with Yang rubbing her breasts all over her face… and not hating the activity. How could that be? It was degrading and silly! But the skin was so soft…

"W-well, if I'm gay, then so are you!" she panted as her face turned as red as a brick. Why couldn't she make herself do anything but lie there and take it?

And take it she did, even when Yang squeezed them against her face one final time, laughing at the ridiculous sight. But once she finally freed the heiress from the soft-skinned prison, she petted her hair instead. A slight encouragement for her to stay there.

"Touché." She smiled fondly. "I guess I am more than a little gay for you, Princess."

“Maybe,” she sighed, collapsing slightly in relief. “Oh wow... that was... different.” Then she kissed the breast closest to her lips again. “Do you do that often? Trap people with your massive boobs into being your... your sex slaves?”

"Why? Is that what you want?" She smirked, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

“D-DON’T BE RIDICULOUS!” Weiss burst out, her face cranking right back up to the level of redness it had been at a moment before. “Maybe it wasn’t… unpleasant, but I don’t have some kind of boob-trapping fetish, okay?! _Wow!”_

For a moment, Yang allowed the room to fall silent. She didn't move Weiss at all, and gave a somewhat concerned look, as if she really assumed she had hurt the heiress's feelings… until her hand moved away to push her boob against the diva's face once again. "You suuuure you don't wanna kiss it?"

“Y…” Her words died in her throat. Seemingly, she really couldn’t resist them; even though it wasn’t a true kiss, her mouth did end up pressed against the soft mound, and she panted awkwardly as she found herself at a loss for what to do.

Her laughing began to die down slowly. Mainly so she could allow Weiss to get back to whatever she was doing. However… yet again, feeling Weiss up against her hardened length just felt so fantastic. Even without her doing anything intensive, the idea that she enjoyed being close to her breasts while they were naked sent butterflies to her stomach. She must have enjoyed it, considering she never made any effort to leave.

But the teasing with the breast, having lasted so long, had taken root despite Weiss’s efforts to resist. The tiny pink mouth slowly glided up to the peak and latched onto it, a whimper of self-surprise muffled as it came out of her nose instead of through her otherwise-occupied lips.

And that enjoyment only got even better. The instant Yang's sensitive peak was met with the wet warmth of her lips, she let out another contented moan. When did they even have feeling of that intensity before? Perhaps it was the magic of the diva, or the time she had gone without any touch whatsoever, but either way, Yang continued to pet the woman's hair, prompting her to continue.

The gentle encouragement was like a dam breaking; Weiss’s tongue quickly swirled around the nipple, testing the feeling and finding that she didn’t mind it in the slightest. Her hand came up to rest on Yang’s other breast as she continued to lavish the first with attention, to drink of it deeply. A little light suction was added as she continued to flick the tip of her tongue over its surface, feeling it grow more rigid as she did so.

All the while, Yang was becoming undone. Each lap of Weiss's tongue against her bare nipple, each small grasp of her other breast with her hand… It was all adding up. Yet again, she was reminded of just how close she was to Weiss. And where her thigh was. That prompted her to thrust herself against it again, moaning softly and quietly as she felt her cock regaining strength with each passing second.

After a few minutes of such treatment, Weiss could no longer ignore what was going on down below. What Yang was doing to her leg; using it as a means to sate her carnal lust. It was reawakening a need within her own body, as well… but she couldn’t contemplate going _that_ far yet.

Could she? After all, it was the typical progression of these activities. But the very thought of allowing their bodies to be joined that way, even if it was the most natural thing in the world… she had to cut that off immediately, for fear of her own ability to cope with what they were doing.

Pulling back, she whispered, “Let me see you. All of you - I want to know how beautiful you are, head to toe.”

Once she regained her breath, she looked down to the rest of her body shyly. She was already half-naked, and Weiss had already seen most of her sex, apart from the sensitive sack. Seeing it all at once was the next step, the only way to one hundred percent know if Weiss loved every bit of her.

“Well...” Swallowing, she shuffled herself upward on the bed and away from her thigh, before she started to push her shorts and panties down, and eventually off. Leaving her bodyguard – or presumably her girlfriend, since this was _definitely_ not part of her job description – completely  naked on the bed. Fully erect, fully blushing. Weiss's for the taking.

Weiss’s hand came up to cover her mouth as she gazed down at the powerful erection. Every time she saw it - even though that had only been twice now - she was completely stunned to find it actually was real, that this really was attached to such a beautiful blond bombshell. But she wasn’t going to say the same stupid things. Instead, she slowly lowered herself to kiss the head.

“You look _happy_ to be naked,” she breathed teasingly a second later, trying to smile coyly despite how hard her heart was pounding within her chest.

"Happy to be naked _with you_ ," she managed to whisper shyly. In truth, her heart was pounding just as hard. She was her bodyguard, completely naked; about to have unthinkable things done to her, by her client. Her fully-clothed client; wasn’t this a little one-sided? Not that she cared. The whole thing had seemed like the blot of a bizarre porn movie to Yang before now, so why was it turning her on more than anything she ever dreamed of? All she could do was rest her hands against the bedsheets, waiting for whatever was coming.

Just as unbelievably, the silver-haired girl was crawling over her legs, kissing down the length of the shaft, letting out quiet little sighs as she went. “Ooh… salty,” she breathed in a shaky voice. “It’s f-from earlier, I guess.” Her loins throbbed again at that thought – Yang, from earlier. She had done that; she had made her finish.

Then she reached the top of the sack and hesitated. “Can… I go lower? I don’t have to.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Yang parted her legs further, allowing Weiss more than enough access for her to get anywhere she possibly wanted. "Go nuts. Just… be gentle with _my_ nuts, okay?"

Giggling like a dope, Weiss ducked her head down in chagrin at her own childish reaction to the joke. “I will, I will.” Then she kissed the surface of the fragile skin. It was unexpectedly soft, and the strangely wrinkled nature of it made it somehow very pliant; testing, she pulled a wrinkle of the skin between her lips and moved them back and forth for a few seconds with the tiniest bit of pressure. Then she released and pulled back.

“So… so how did that feel for you?”

In truth, Yang didn't know how it felt. Those had been fondled by hands before, but never by lips simply rolling over them. But it wasn't painful, not at all. In fact, it felt… "Kinda nice," she admitted. "Like you're stroking me or something. Itty bitty massage."

Nodding as she began to feel braver, Weiss dipped her head down to draw in more of the skin, rolling it around on her tongue, fully appreciative of the vague flavour and the sensation upon her tongue. It was so much more _loose_ than she had been expecting! From what little she’d seen and read in the class texts – which is where she had learned about sex – that skin seemed like it would be tightly wrapped around the small spheres it protected. However, she’d come to find out that there was plenty of things to learn outside of that classroom. Maybe this wouldn’t become a regular thing, or maybe it would; either way, it was fun to experiment.

It was fun for Yang, as well. She'd done all experimenting with the female body before, explored the ins and outs of nearly everything. This was Weiss's turn to explore her rather unique version. As Weiss continued to roll the skin over her tongue, one of her hands left the bedsheets, wrapping around her length a moment. Was she really about to stroke herself with Weiss right there?

Seemed she was. Weiss’s mouth paused in her movements as she watched the hand tease the owner’s own flesh, watched it gliding up and down. Though earlier, she had done her level best, it seemed she could not compete with the blonde’s years of practice on herself. So she withdrew her mouth and raised her hand up to lightly cup the sack, trying to be gentle – as per Yang’s instructions. For the time being, she was contented to sit back and watch the show unfold before her.

Even after only a few glides of her hand, Yang was beginning to breathe heavily, throwing her head back against the pillows to try and keep herself grounded. If anything, this could serve as a demonstration, to show Weiss what she liked in particular. So far, it seemed like a lot of pressure, particularly to the base and the underside, just beneath the head. From there, she would also begin to see the little things such pleasure was making Yang do, like twitch her legs and curl her toes…

And Weiss truly appreciated the instruction. Yang’s hand was so much surer than her own had been, her strokes hard and elegantly moving in the right direction; by comparison, she had been clumsy. This was going to take some getting used to.

Unlike the vague flavours on her tongue that were intermingling. The one simple kiss she had left on the tip had given her insight into how it tasted – and fortunately, how she had expected it to taste was not as pleasant as the reality. The vague scent wafting up was much more enticing, however – in a way she couldn’t put into words if she tried.

“Um,” she began in a small voice, “is… is that going to be enough for you to finish again? Working on it yourself, that is - with me doing… whatever this is.”

Her fingers gently squeezed the sack below Yang’s stroking. Looking back down toward her again, she slowed her stroking so she could think, taking deep breaths to allow herself that luxury. It was more than enough to get her off again if she needed, but somehow, she felt it wouldn't be right to deny Weiss another chance of experimenting, however she wanted to.

And so releasing her length, she asked, "You got something else in mind?"

Her breath was already coming faster as she tried to think through her actions. That wasn’t working, of course. “Yes. I… I do.” After all, she had already heard of this before, somewhere; that people did what she was about to do. All the time. Totally normal.

But she still felt like the world’s worst deviant as she leaned down and wrapped her lips gingerly around the very tip of Yang’s shaft.

There it was again. The feeling that had graced her breasts not too long ago was now about to grace her sex. Warmth and wetness. A feeling that made Yang gasp again in pleasure, eyes snapping wide open as she couldn't believe what she was seeing. The first person to give her oral sex since her transition was an _internationally-acclaimed pop star!_ This couldn’t be her life!

Her hands were at a loss of what to do now, until one went to caress her own breast, gently kneading the skin to try and arouse herself even more for the diva. The other hand went to Weiss’s hair again, starting to pet.

So Weiss was to do this on her own again, it seemed. It was only right, after all; if she was going to be a good girlfriend to her new… _girlfriend_ , crazy as that was, she wanted to be able to please her. Maybe it wasn’t a requirement, but it was an option she felt eager to at least attempt. Her tongue swirled around the head, which seemed to fill up her entire mouth as she suckled and caressed the surface, teased it the way she had teased the nipple Yang was about to fondle.

All the while, there were small noises of pleasure coming from the bodyguard. Just like Weiss did before she reached her limit, there were squeaks and gasps of joy, small amounts of shifting in her body as she tried to contain the ever-mounting pleasure. But a couple of words escaped: "F-fuck, Weiss…" Followed by her starting to grasp a handful of hair by accident.

Both of Weiss’s eyes flew open as she felt the grip tighten on her hair, her head sinking lower… and was stunned to feel twice as much of Yang inside of her mouth as before. And she fit somehow, she kept herself from gagging on the girth, but knew there would be no way to easily go any deeper than that.

The shaft was so warm, so solid against her tongue. Somehow comforting. And the response from Yang was a clear indicator that she was liking it even more! Therefore, she began to push her tongue up against the underside, teasing and savouring at the same time. All she wanted was to finish Yang now, to make her climax twice in quick succession. Make her happier than she’d ever been.

"OH! F-fuck!" And if she was to keep going, that was precisely what was coming. Even if not all of her could fit inside her mouth, the amount that did was more than satisfactory, just as the tongue that caressed her was when she felt it sliding up and down her underside. It was tremendous! Grasping her hair a little tighter, she couldn't help but very slightly move her hips from side to side, testing the sensation. "Y-you're… so good at this! H-how can you have never – _AH_ – done this before?!"

Of course, all that Weiss could do in that moment was to shake her head back and forth to deny the implication she had any experience – a motion which amplified the sensation upon Yang’s member. Again, the head that had so recently been sated was trying to return, but all she could think about was the intensity of the flavour from Yang’s previous orgasm. So rich, yet muted; not very strong at all. She could handle more of that.

"I-I kind of…." There was something she wanted to do. But Weiss was so new to this – so much so that it worried her to even mention what it was she wanted. But the more her head moved side to side, the more she wanted to give into such a desire. It did no harm to ask. "Y-you can say no, but… I kind of want to thrust into that pretty mouth of yours…"

The look on Weiss’s face was pure puzzlement. She didn’t really know what that meant, but assumed somehow Yang wanted to stroke herself while Weiss was “servicing” her. Not knowing how else to convey her approval, she merely shrugged both shoulders and waited for whatever might happen.

"I-I just… Tap me to stop me."

Deciding to test the waters a little, she kept a hold of Weiss's hair to keep her in place. And slowly, she was pushing her hips upward to meet Weiss's lips. Only very slight and very slow, not so much to choke her or scare her, but enough to see if she would equally enjoy.

Instantly, the poor pop star’s eyes were as wide as they could be when she felt Yang pulling back and sliding back inward. There was no other way to think of it: _Yang was about to have sex with her mouth._ Was this something she wanted to happen? Yes. And no. She couldn’t be sure! The idea both aroused and disgusted her, but somehow the fact that it was Yang tipped things very slightly in the “aroused” direction. She could try this, at least once.

"Oh my _god…"_ Yang couldn't stop moaning out. Now that she was in a position where she could, the back of the bus behind two closed doors, she wasn't holding back any longer. Each time more of her entered Weiss's mouth, each time she felt the head brush against all different surfaces, she moaned over and over. It was beyond anything she'd ever dreamed! At last, she was being pampered as she wanted to be, as _Yang_ , without having to keep anything hidden. And all of this with a woman she thought would be far beyond her reach! All she could think of was both the overwhelming pleasure, and that she must be the luckiest woman alive.

Meanwhile, Weiss was struggling to breathe. With her mouth impossible, she was having to force air in through her nose - and even that was a challenge. After a minute or two, she couldn't handle it any longer. Surely, Yang wouldn’t mind if she took a break, right?

“Mmhh,” she moaned as she withdrew, quickly bringing her hand up to stroke the wet length. If it worked before, it would work again. After gasping for breath for a second or two, she asked, “You… you like that? My mouth?”

Gradually, Yang's heavy breathing and loud moaning came to a halt, and instead she was back to grasping at the sheets instead, squirming her legs back and forth. After such intense pleasure, going back to being stroked by hand was certainly enough to wind her up again. She was so close! "Y-yes!" It was ridiculously needy, had it been any other situation, she would have avoided saying anything. But she needed it to continue. "I love it… I really love it!"

“Okay!” Weiss panted as she licked her lips in preparation. “Okay, then I’ll taste you again!” Then she fell back to task, slightly more confident than before. Again, she nearly choked but soon thereafter they both found a steadier rhythm, and she merely pressed her tongue up to create a comfortable sheath for Yang’s sword.

Back to moaning once again, Yang's hands continued to grasp and clutch at whatever they could, one hand on the sheets, one in Weiss's hair. That soon, she was back to the same state as before, of her stomach tightening and muscles clenching. She was so very close!

After a few more minutes, she held Weiss's hair firmer, managing to let a quivering warning: "W-Weiss… I'm gonna… I-It's going to ha- to haaaaappen again!"

Tears pricked the corners of her eyes as she thought about what that meant, and what a violation it would be – but she was determined. Last time, the evidence had been deposited all over the place! She could handle a little in her mouth. Therefore, she merely tried to relax and allow Yang to do as she might with her, the hand holding her gently in place as her head was used for her girlfriend’s extreme pleasure.

And she did. A few more thrusts into her mouth and she found her end, quivering and clutching even tighter to what she could as her back arched. In the back of a bus, no less, she'd found her orgasm twice thanks to the diva – the Christian whom she was so afraid of the previous day.

Inside her mouth, said Christian felt the foreign length beginning to throb, yet again releasing more seed. This time into her mouth, against the back of her throat. It wasn't as much as last time, but that didn't stop the feeling from being just as intense.

Unfortunately, it was so unexpected by the time it actually happened – given that Weiss had only encountered a spurting cock once before in her entire life and hadn’t memorised the warning signs – that she did gag when it happened. She was able to wait until Yang finished before she drew away, coughing into her hand. Her eyes clamped shut; she didn’t want to know what it looked like this way.

But Yang was too concerned to shut her own eyes. Once she'd regained her breath, she managed to push herself upright, looking over to Weiss who was still in her coughing fit. As fun as their time was, she couldn't help but feel bad about being the one to do this to her.

"U-Um… sorry." She reached a hand out to pat her back. "But damn, you're… that was amazing. Holy _shit._ "

Nodding her thanks and understanding, Weiss sniffled - not because she was sad or upset, but because the coughing had made her nose start to run. She made sure to pat Yang’s forearm briefly and flash her a bleary smile before she silently got up and ran for the bathroom.

As much as she wanted to follow, Yang remained where she was. The worst thing she could do was follow her into the living area while they were driving; anyone could look in and see her shame! Instead, after a few more seconds to regain her breath, she went to retrieve her clothes. Immediately she pulled up her panties, then hesitated before putting the bra on. Perhaps she didn't have to get completely dressed just yet…

Within a couple of minutes, a shaking Weiss returned from the bathroom. Her eyes were slightly bloodshot and cheeks blotchy, but she was smiling awkwardly. “S-sorry,” she whispered. “I thought I could handle… well, you saw.”

Having just started to sort the sheets and the pillows again, she laid back to their original position against the pillows, facing the laptop. Which by now was simply repeating the title screen of the DVD, the movie long forgotten.

"Yeah, I know; happens to the best of us. Kinda gotta try it a few times before you can handle it. But seriously, that was…" She was completely speechless, still grinning giddily.

The smile was slowly returned as she rounded the bed and crawled up next to Yang. “You really liked it? I don’t think I did a very good job, but I tried my best. There’s a learning curve, right?”

"Are you kidding me? That was fantastic! I came like a freight train" As soon as she was by her side, Yang threw her arms around her, holding her closely and instantly pressing kiss after kiss against her cheek. And she meant it, every word. Even if it was a soppy way of wording it, and an even soppier way of showing it. "Seriously, I don't think… I don't think I've _ever_ had it that good."

“You’re sure you’re not just buttering me up?” Weiss asked, but she was smiling as she nuzzled into Yang’s neck. “You can tell me; constructive criticism would be appreciated, especially since I’m just starting to… to- is that a ‘blow job’? Did I really just give you a _blow job?!_ Wow, this is a very unusual day for me!”

"You did, yeah… wow." Still unable to believe that fact, she just held Weiss close to her, softly stroking her hair once she had settled into a more comfortable position. "I just… this time a couple days ago, you and me were doing our nails… and suddenly, _everything’s_ different. I mean, yeah, I've had some flings that have started quick, but this is something else…"

The word “fling” seemed to bring Weiss up short before she could answer. “Oh… yeah, I guess. This is sort of sudden.” And then she fell silent, trying to figure out what to say - or if to say anything at all.

"Not that this is a fling, though." Yang had beaten her to the punch. After being with her company closely for well over a month, she had begun to learn that sudden silence meant something had hit her hard. She suspected that may be the cause. "At least…. I definitely don't want it to be."

“You don’t? Are you sure? Because… I mean, if that’s what you’re used to doing, then I guess that’s alright…” But she did sound slightly mollified as she cuddled up closer to the blonde’s side.

Her only response to that was giving Weiss a small squeeze, kissing the top of her head for a moment. "Weiss," she began, this time sounding completely earnest, rather than maintaining the usual bit of sarcasm. "I'm only used to flings because I didn't think anyone would want me for anything more than that. I mean… me and Scarlet lasted a month, tops."

“What are you saying?!” the diva burst out in shock, pulling away to glare down the blonde. “Of _course_ people would want you! You’re a gorgeous, strong, capable woman – and you have a sense of humour that I don’t quite understand, but it seems like it’s a really good one! So… so anyone who turned you down because they only wanted you to be a fling can kiss my boots!”

Yang had no answer to that. All she could do was stare into the diva's eyes, her own beginning to tear up from the kind words. In the end, after a moment of letting them sink in, she had to wipe one of the loose tears away.

"How did I do anything to deserve you?"

“Oh, Yang…” Weiss leaned down and kissed the tears away, breath shaking as she did so. Then their lips connected, even if only for the briefest of moments. But when she pulled back, all she said was, “You’re just lucky, I suppose.”

Heart thumping wildly, Yang grinned up at her and whispered, “The luckiest.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyyy, have this for a (really belated) Valentine's Day gift! The return of the smut! I'll try to keep up posting quicker, I promise!


	11. Chapter 11

**=Chapter 11**

Within a little over a week, Weiss had completed her tour stops at St. Louis, Tulsa, Dallas, Austin, and Little Rock. Each show was a tremendous success, with media attention across all platforms. Thanks to Yang, any unwanted photos were unusable, and there had been seemingly no further slip-ups in security. Business as usual.

Not only that, but many of the fellow security staff and makeup crew had noted that Weiss seemed far happier than she ever had before, and that she was a lot kinder and more forgiving when they made mistakes. Even though there were bigger divas in the business, she had not been exactly “easy” to work with before. She was like a brand new woman, even if they didn’t know precisely why.

There were social benefits for Yang, as well. As time went on, she was growing more and more confident in not just her job, but with the staff and the crowds in general. Despite her flirtatious nature, Yang had an ingrained habit of avoiding talking if she was able to, but now it was no longer an issue. There wasn't the horrible feeling in the background that people would know her secret instantly, and the fear of anyone finding out had simply… vanished. For the first time in her life, she was starting to finally feel not partially, but _fully_ comfortable in her own skin.

Alas, they couldn't allow their relationship to become public knowledge. There was too much of a risk to her career, with not just the media attention, but the backlash from her father. Considering he had pushed her into becoming a Christian singer when she was young, he certainly would not approve of her straying this far from “the path of righteousness”. But that didn't mean that cuddling, kissing and other things had to be off limits. They just had to remain behind closed doors.

As it neared midnight over a week after their relationship became so much more physical, their next destination still hours away, the couple got hungry. The crew had stopped for a nap break, anyway, so she and Yang zipped off a few miles down the road to a small coffee house along the highway. This time of night, there were only a few people inside, but that was preferable; less attention to be raised.

"So, what you having?"

“Hmm,” Weiss mused as she looked down the page of the menu. “I’ll try the… what is a ‘Po Boy’, anyway?”

“Sandwich,” the squat woman taking their order told her. “One of the better ones on the menu, I can tell you that.”

“Oh.” Glancing at Yang, she shrugged and said, “Then I’ll try one of those, and some of your fries with a light sprinkling of sea salt. And a lemonade.” The woman scribbled down the order – though she had rolled her eyes at the salt request – then looked over at the blonde.

"I'll have a fully loaded waffle, extra bacon, and a coffee with cream and sugar." She smiled up at the woman, placing the menu down in the small holster at their side as she left, then gazed over the room. It was a quaint enough little place, neon lights around the front counter to give off a fifties appearance, red leather seating on the booths and bar seats, a jukebox sat to one side that was turned off for some reason. If it were twelve in the afternoon rather than the morning, a place like this would usually draw a decent crowd in such a small town.

“Maybe I should have tried a milkshake,” Weiss hissed to Yang once the woman had moved off. “Or should I say ‘chocolate malt’? It would suit this atmosphere.”

"Milkshakes, fifties-looking joint… I should have worn my leather jacket. We coulda sang ‘Greased Lightnin’!" She glance over at the jukebox again. "Shame that’s out of commission. The quiet makes it a lil spooky."

Shrugging, Weiss pulled a packet of Sweet N’ Low out of the holder and began turning it in her fingertips, simply to busy her hands. They wanted to reach out and take Yang’s, but again, that would be a public display of affection - which they had both agreed was out of the question.

“Guess it does. At least it’s not on and playing one of my songs, though.”

"Good luck trying to get that ol' thing to work,” a rather tall blonde woman behind the bar called up, having either heard part of their conversation, or at least seen Yang staring over at it. “Broke a couple o' weeks ago. Had to hire my lil' brother to come in and play the guitar and sing all last week to keep the lunch hour entertained." As she went to fetch more cream for the coffee, she gestured toward the corner. "Hell, if you want music, guitar's right over there."

Smiling demurely, Weiss said, “No, thank you.” Then she lowered her voice to add, “I don’t want anyone recognizing my singing voice; plus, if I play the guitar I’m sure to break a nail. I only play while we’re recording and I’m not making ‘appearances’.”

Yang continued to stare for a moment, shrugging her shoulders lightly as the woman brought their coffees. One black, the other with cream as requested. Once she had gone, Yang chuckled. "Would you believe me if I told you I used to play?"

“Really?” The polite smile turned into one of genuine interest. “Xiao Long, there are more layers to you than meets the eye. What did you play? Lead, bass?”

"Lead. I only ever had an acoustic guitar before, but I had to sell it when I moved. Haven’t played in a little while, but I still remember some of the little tunes I made up." Taking a sip of java, she began to sink into her seat happily. "Ahhhhh, that's the stuff…"

That made Weiss contemplative for a moment, even as she was watching how happy Yang was to be sipping at her coffee. Eventually, she opened the packet of sweetener and poured it into her cup, but she was still thinking as she sipped the bitter liquid.

Then, right around the time their waitress brought out her lemonade, she suddenly blurted out, “Show me.”

It was said in the middle of her sip, and thus suddenly made her eyes snap open wide, and made her almost spit what she had in her mouth out. Thankfully she could swallow, but it didn’t erase the bug-eyed look.

"S-scuze me?! Weiss, that’s- c’mon, I know you’re suddenly all about dirtying up your ‘squeaky clean’ image, but we’re in the middle of a restaurant!"

"Not _that_ you dolt! You’re terrible! I meant the _guitar_ ," Weiss whispered with a coy smile, fingertips playing around the rim of her coffee cup. "Right here, right now. Show me what you got."

Another gaze around the room was needed before she made her decision. It wasn't a very big audience. Weiss, three truckers sat up at the bar, one lonely police officer half asleep in one of the corner booths, and the two waitresses. Even so, she was years out of practice. Would Weiss want to hear her sounding like a cat on a fence?

But as she stared down at the coffee cup, the less she was beginning to care. Weiss liked her, and she was already the musician in their relationship; there was no real impetus to “impress” her when she definitely wouldn’t be impressed. That removed a lot of the stage fright. Besides, they had only come in for a quick meal, then they would be gone. And frankly, Yang could always fall asleep in the bus before it was brought up again.

"Ah, fuck it." Before she could talk herself out of it, Yang stood from the table.

Pleased both that she was getting her way, and that Yang would be displaying whatever level of skill she might have, her employer turned in her chair to face the corner where Yang was just pulling the guitar into her lap. Though the diva promised herself she would not react negatively, even if Yang couldn't carry a tune in a bucket; after all, she did say it had been quite some time since she last touched a guitar.

For a few short moments, Yang ran her fingers over the strings, playing a few quiet chords to test the sound. It seemed in tune, she thought. Then she played a few notes of a simple medley; nothing memorable, just to test its sound and refamiliarise herself with it after so long. Then she made sure her chair was faced as much toward Weiss as she could get it, staring down at the strings as she prepared. Tapping her foot to a somewhat slower rhythm than Weiss's songs would be, she mouthed in time with the beat.

"One, two, three, four…”

The gentle melody that began to flow out of the instrument was one that very much suited the sleepy atmosphere of such a small town at that time of night. It wasn't a song that had been on the radio, or in the background of the movie.

Which Weiss was certainly listening for. Yang wasn't lying when she said she had written a few tunes. Still, the way she had talked about her playing made her think it was a simple three-chord ditty, just something she had messed around with – maybe a slight variance on a popular song. But this was something completely new, and completely beautiful. Rough around the edges, and she heard a few notes in there that Yang had missed slightly, but clearly that was more a by-product of being out of practice than of lack of talent. The tune itself was completely captivating, effortless.

Yang, all of it was Yang.

By the time the strings fell silent and the spell broken, she was startled to see their plates of food were now on the table. So engrossed had she been in the strains of the guitar that she hadn't even noticed them being brought along. Hastening to fill the void left by the song, she began to clap, and the other patrons clapped, as well – one man wolf-whistled, probably mostly because Yang was a beautiful blonde. Maybe they hadn't enjoyed it quite as much as Weiss, but they definitely didn't hate it.

It wasn't something Yang expected at all. Perhaps polite applause from Weiss, but not from everyone present, including the two waitresses behind the counter. Looking toward them with a blush on her face, she placed the guitar back in the corner, offering a small curtsy to those looking her way before she rejoined Weiss.

"That…" The normally self-assured diva tried to form words for several seconds; she only succeeded in gesticulating weirdly. Finally, she reached across the table and grasped Yang's forearms as hard as she could. "YOU!"

Looking back toward her with eyes as wide as she could possibly manage in her somewhat sleepy state, she raised her shoulders hesitantly. Had she really stank that bad? "I told you I was a lil' rusty, but, yeah, that's that."

 _"Rusty?_ You… you are just…" Sitting back with wide eyes, Weiss chuckled just a little. "How dare you!"

Taking up her knife and fork, Yang could only keep her hands busy by cutting up her waffle, staring down at her plate to avoid eye contact. "What? I mean I just… I had a lot of free time when I made it up. Never claimed it was gonna take the world by storm, just that it was-"

"How DARE you keep this talent a secret, you jerk! I can't believe that all this time, I've had a gifted musician standing around and beating people up for me!"

Although flattered, which was somewhat obvious by the red cheeks behind the cup as she had another sip of the coffee, Yang continued to be modest about such a performance. Complimenting her looks was something she could accept pretty easy, but anything else was beyond her ken.

"’Gifted’, huh? You don’t have to butter me up. I mean it's nothing like your songs." She put the mug down, tucking into a slice of the waffle to fill the brief silence.

"The hell it’s not!" Taking a breath, she wiped a hand down her face, smearing a tiny bit of her mascara in the process. She was too distracted to notice. "You… I mean, okay yes, my songs are normally more glam-pop-oriented, but there's definitely room on the radio for breezy guitar pop like yours! What do you call that one?"

Looking upward in thought, she quickly swallowed what mouthful she had, already preparing the next bite before she could answer that question – a preemptive escape route. "It… doesn't have a name yet, I guess. Never bothered to think of one. But I remember writing it when…"

"When WHAT?!" But she noticed Yang was wincing at her outbursts, and being evasive, so she cleared her throat and tried to compose herself. "Sorry. I mean, when did you write it?"

“Well...” She began to lean in toward Weiss, quickly gazing around the room to make sure no one was listening in. It was a too sensitive subject to be yelled out loud. "I started writing it before I came out to Blake, as kind of a way of… y’know, venting my feelings. Had to do something. And I kept working on it before I came out to my dad and Ruby, too. I mean, you can't really tell from just a melody with no words, but it's sort of my way of trying to get me to accept myself? I guess. Um, nevermind."

"Oh…" Now Weiss felt stupid for having pushed so much; those parts of Yang's life were still very sensitive, even though she was so far along in her journey. There did seem to be a secret pain behind the melody, but she was so used to hearing songs day in, day out, that she sometimes didn’t pay much attention to the meaning that the music itself could carry. "Well… you can play it for me anytime you need to vent about it again. It's beautiful. Absolutely, _hauntingly_ beautiful."

"Hey, don't sweat it. I don't mind you knowing its origin." But just before she finished the rest of her meal, a thought seemed to have crossed her mind. As much was obvious by the way she stared in the general direction of the guitar and smiled to herself. "It'd be even prettier with lyrics, I think. One of those 'this is who I am' songs rather than 'this is who I'll screw'. Don't think it'd ever sell well on the radio, but it would be nice if it was… out there. For anybody who needs it, or whatever. Not that I’m any kind of singer – _trust_ me. My girl singing voice is almost as bad as my guy singing voice was. "

All the diva did while listening was continue to make her way through her po' boy - which turned out to be tasty, even if a tad spicier than her palate was normally comfortable with. Her mind was racing, trying to make sense of all this new and fascinating information she had just been handed. She’d never expected this. Seemed her bodyguard was _full_ of surprises.

A few moments of silence followed as both finished their meals, Yang draining the last of her coffee. Which as it turned out, was doing nothing to really wake her up; she was lucky to have even kept her eyes open all this time. But as she sat and waited for Weiss to finish her drink, she smiled contentedly. It was always nice being out with her girlfriend – even if it was still fresh and new.

“Well, it’s a shame you didn’t show me this talent of yours before now,” Weiss sighed as she set down her own fork. “We could have enjoyed some random duets all along the tour.”

“Stop,” Yang laughed easily. Then she came over wistful, staring down into her empty cup. "Wish I still had a guitar so I could play it more often, if you like it that much. Guess I could do air guitar."

"Do you?" she replied, playing it cool. "Then perhaps you should put aside a little money. We could even make a stop at a music store in a few days, so you can price them. Could lead to a whole new career path of busking in the park."

"Maybe once the tour is over, sure. But for now, I'd rather focus on beating people up for you." She winked. Not quite tired enough to completely change her personality just yet. “But apparently I suck at that and should become a street performer, huh?”

"That's… I was kidding, of _course_ you're good at your job!" Weiss blustered, frowning at Yang as she set down her lemonade for the final time.

"You're damn right I'm good at my job. Saved your ass, remember?" They were at a point now when the subject of the knifeman could be brought up. At least, it could between those two. To anyone else, Weiss would be silent, not want to say a word. But with Yang, making light of the danger was a way of coping.

Finally, Yang rose from her seat, pacing out from their table as she waited for the diva. With a grumbled "Yeah, yeah," she eventually joined her, leaving a twenty on their table to cover the meal. But her mind was still deep in thought about Yang's playing. How could she not know she could play to please the angels themselves?

* * *

 

As they crossed the parking lot to get back to the bike, it seemed Yang's state of tiredness was becoming more and more apparent. She was wobbling in her footsteps occasionally, constantly yawning, struggling to keep her eyes open… How on earth could she ride the bike like this? It was only a five-minute ride, but she knew she wouldn't make it that far. But perhaps…

"Hey Weiss?" she asked tiredly, trying to hold off another yawn. "How about you drive?"

"How ab…" Her eyes went wide as she turned back to blink at Yang. "This is your _baby_ though! You told me over and over – I couldn't dream of trying, I've only driven a motorcycle like, twice!"

"And that's still way more than I expected and throws me off whenever you say it." Passing her one of the helmets, and fastening her own in place, she had to yawn yet again. "Look, you're more awake than me. And it's only five minutes down the road. I'll be right there with you, okay?"

Weiss's eyes went to the motorcycle. There was fear there, and hesitation… but also a gleam of interest. She loved riding on the back of it, and wanted to be in charge of that power herself. Wanted to feel the handlebars thrum under her own palms.

"Are you sure?" she asked, turning away from the bike. Away from temptation. "I mean, I'd pay for everything if I put a scratch on it, of course, but I still don't want to hurt your ride."

"Thought you liked feeling me pressed up against your back." Yet again, she smirked to her, even giving a small wink. Of course Yang would refer to their sleeping habits and the things that drove Weiss mad with need in the middle of a serious chat. It was in her nature.

Cheeks only pinkening the slightest bit at the provocation, she sauntered over to the bike, calling over her shoulder, "Sometimes I think you like my ass more than the rest of me." But she put on a good show of throwing her leg over the bike, letting Yang get just the tiniest glimpse of her strawberry-patterned underwear under her skirt before it settled.

It only made Yang growl with joy as she climbed on behind her, budging herself forward as much as she could so she was right behind her. Allowing her arms to settle around her, she taunted by deliberately pushing her hips up against Weiss's backside a moment.

"Well, you do let me get pretty close to it. A lot."

A gust of flustered air pushed from Weiss's nostrils. No, she couldn't feel terribly much through all the fabric, but knowing what was back there made a tingling begin that she would have to ignore if she wanted to drive properly.

"Okay, so…" She slipped the key into the ignition, made sure she had the brake applied, and then turned the key. Instantly, the motor roared to life. "Anything else I should remember?"

"Works the same as a regular Yamaha, but the accelerator is tweaked. So just keep it slow and steady; don’t rev too fast," she warned, giving a small squeeze around her waist as she finally lifted her legs off the ground, giving Weiss full control.

They peeled out from the parking lot. Weiss did a good job of taking things rather slow - other than once or twice when her hand slipped and they took off like a shot, but she managed to bring everything back under control again within a block or two. Gradual decreases kept them from wiping out completely.

All the while, the warm presence of Yang against her back was such a comfort that she found it hard to be all that frightened of losing control. They both knew what they were doing; Yang simply had more practice, that was all. Meanwhile, Yang kept her hands on her girlfriend, watching the road ahead as though she were driving herself. Weiss was quite good once she had gained her confidence, just as well as Yang was a decent musician when she gained hers. In her tired state, she did manage to lean into Weiss's neck, giving it a small kiss as they continued the gentle pace.

"Am I doing okay?!" Weiss demanded in a voice nearly an octave higher than usual as they idled at a red light.

"You're doing fine!" She squeezed her slightly closer in the moment they'd stopped, pressing yet another kiss to her cheek. From how soppy she was being on their journey, it was obvious she was on the verge of falling asleep.

When they finally made it back to where the bus was parked, she leaned Yang against the side of the trailer hitched to the back before pushing the bike inside on her own. It wasn't easy for her thin arms, but she managed. Then she locked it up and led Yang inside their living quarters, patting her tired shoulders in sympathy.

By the time they got ready for bed and slid into the sheets, they were already on the road. The driver would be going all night so that they were most of the way back up toward Indianapolis by the time they woke up; he sometimes swapped out with one of the other roadies who wad guiding the bus full of Weiss’s entourage.

"Yang?" she whispered while snuggling up against Yang's back, just to see if she was asleep yet.

Nuzzled into the pillows and the sheets, Yang shuffled her head very slightly when she heard her name called, whispering very quietly, "Yeah?"

The younger woman debated for a moment. "I'm sorry for pushing you for the story about that song. Didn't think it would be so personal - but that's no excuse for me being pushy."

"You didn't push." The words were so quiet compared to her normal voice. Clutching the sheets to pull more of them onto herself, she continued, "Maybe one day, you'll have your own song like that. One about… coming out."

"Maybe," Weiss breathed into her blonde mane as she began to drift herself. "We'll see."

Under the sheets, Yang held the hand that Weiss had on her stomach tightly. At this time of night, it was too late for her to make up jokes, or even to lie; she was at her most honest. She might as well be drunk.

"I know it's hard for you. All this. You didn't want to be like me, because you don't wanna disappoint your dad, or your religion or whatever. But listen – you're not messing up, or hurting anybody. You are who you are. And that's perfect as it is, whatever it is."

Weiss's eyebrows knitted as she listened. Yang was trying to soothe her about things she hadn't even been thinking that deeply upon, but once said… she couldn't deny they were true. Her lyrics stuck to such surface topics as boys and "girl power" and partying because digging into anything deeper was terrifying. She didn't want to put herself out there, to challenge people's perceptions. Especially not those of her family. But Yang was right; she was who she was. Fighting it would have made her miss out on this glorious relationship. So maybe she should push her boundaries a little after all.

As she drifted off to sleep, the awakening diva also thought she might know exactly where to start…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the wait there, but I hopefully can get the next chaps out a lot sooner! Thanks for all the reviews, I'm always given a little Mana Boost when I read them!


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER: Fingering, facials, fellatio. Also body image issues.

**=Chapter 12**

"Trip’s been going great, sis. We stopped off for waffles last night at about… one in the morning? I was dead by the time we got back."

In the clogged traffic of the city, Yang was taking that opportunity to catch up with her dad and Ruby again. Though with her father, it was the more general “I’m doing fine, the job is weird” type of conversation; coming out to him had been a pretty rocky event, and even though he was accepting now it did put a little distance between them. She told her sister about meeting with Blake in Chicago, how they were now best of friends and remaining in contact; Ruby was glad to hear that, as she had liked Blake a lot the few times they met.

Obviously, she left out a few details for Weiss's benefit, such as the fact they were now an item. Not that she was afraid of what her sister would say about her, but more about what would possibly end up on her blog later.

As her boss emerged from the bedroom after finishing her makeup and hair for the day, Yang adjusted her position and the phone's angle so the camera had them both in clear shot. "Aaaaand here she is! The motorcyclist herself."

Ruby's digital face lit up at the sight of her idol. "OH! Hi, Weiss! Remember me?!"

Weiss rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly, of course I remember! How are you, _Ruby?"_ The inflection on her name was clearly meant to prove to the young student that she hadn't somehow forgotten her existence in the past couple of weeks. Yang laughed at the two of them, quickly pulling a chair outward to let Weiss possibly sit next to her as well, should she desire.

"She can ride pretty well. Only ran a few red lights and killed three people."

"She- WHAT?!" Ruby burst out, leaning closer to her camera. Apparently, she was on a laptop instead of a phone, if the static position of the shot was any indication. "NO WAY, Weiss would never hurt anyone or anything!"

"Yang, don't be mean to your sister," Weiss sighed, nudging her with her elbow as she sat down.

"Assault! Assault and battery!" Yang right away called out. Once they were sat side by side she did her best to copy Ruby's tactic, resting the phone on the table in her hand. "You home for Easter, Rubes? You seem more chill than usual."

"Well, I am… in _A_ home for Easter," she told her evasively, stifling a little giggle.

"In… _A_ home?" The confusion was pretty clear on Yang's face from the other end.

That seemed to be the planned signal for another party to pop into view – slightly taller ginger-haired girl with curly yet well managed hair, a pink bow somewhat visible on the back of her head. She threw her arms around Ruby, grinning. "Salutations!"

"Penny?" The blonde was taken back, eyes fully widening as the cogs were beginning to turn in her head. "Shouldn't she be… Doesn't she live in New Yo- Ruby, are _you_ in New York?!"

"Yup!" The girl laughed, returning Penny's embrace with a grin. "Well, it's Spring Break, right? Time to cut loose!" Then she ducked her head. "Not that I'm very good at cutting loose - in fact, I don't normally cut anything, I'm very careful with scissors and knives…"

"Oh, you're really in New York?" Weiss asked with a slight smile. "That's so funny, so are we! Or… did you come here because you knew it was my next stop?"

Waving a hand with a snort, Ruby said, "No, no. Well… okay, it influenced my decision, _but I swear I wanted to come meet Penny's parents anyway!"_

"Holy fuckin' shit, I can't believe you're actually in New York City! I don't have to wait till summer break to see you again!" Yang's grin more or less went off her face. Yet again a surprise visit to her sister, more than once in the same tour. And she had expected her job would make it _harder_ to see her.

Penny was laughing nervously as she finally released her guest. "Speaking of which, p-please keep the swearing down a bit? Father doesn't like swearing very much and both of them are rather strict."

"Something we have in common," Weiss said with a sigh as she turned her gaze slightly to Ruby's freckled companion. "It's nice to meet you, Penny."

"Wonderful to meet you, too, Weiss! I'm afraid I hadn't really heard of you before Ruby introduced me to your music, but it's truly an honour!"

"Oh, stop," Weiss said with practiced celebrity modesty. "I'm just a person. You and Ruby seem close; I'm glad you found a roommate who can be a friend, too."

Glancing over at Penny, Ruby grinned and said, "Me, too! Oh man, she's like a BFF and we've only known each other for a few months, you know?! It's INCREDIBLE!"

"Y-Yes! A B-F-F! Absolutely!" Penny was growing increasingly more and more flustered, that much was obvious by the redness appearing on her freckled face.

Yang, taking it simply as shyness from being complimented so much, just nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I knew you guys were close, but not an entire Spring Break together close! Speaking of which, did you guys wanna grab lunch when we're in the city, maybe?"

"Hey, yeah! We GOTTA!" Ruby turned her silver eyes nervously back in Weiss's direction. "Um… I mean, if that's okay! You're super busy, I know you're busy, so you don't have to!"

"We'd love to," Weiss laughed. "In fact, I have some errands to run tomorrow before the concert, but why don't you meet up with your sister for lunch then? Then we can all reconvene together afterward."

"You… sure?" Yang questioned, looking down to Weiss. She hadn't left Weiss completely on her own since the attack on that very first night – not for a long period of time, at least. In truth, she was far too worried to, especially now. Anything could happen.

"I'll wear a big hat," Weiss assured Yang, having caught the dubious look on her face. "And, if it will make you feel better, we can have one of the other security guards accompany me in the taxi."

"Definitely. And uh, text me? Just to keep me in the loop."

The ginger haired girl was clapping her hands in excitement. "Oh, it's so nice to see you taking your job so seriously, Yang! Ruby had always said you were caring of everyone and I've been so dearly looking forward to meeting you!" It seemed the obviously worried look on Yang's face completely flew right by her. That or she was thinking too far ahead. "Depending on your funds, there's all kinds of places for dinner! I can recommend the correct Ray’s Pizza, according to my Dad, and there’s Hard Rock Café, and pricier establishments if you want to have a nice evening out…"

"Hard Rock Café sounds like your sort of place," Weiss told Yang with a smirk.

"GREAT!" Ruby burst out, bouncing up and down in her chair. "Then let's do it, okay guys?! Let's make it happen!"

"Yeah, definitely! And… then we'll do something after as the four of us, right? Since Penny hasn’t met you yet." It was more the worry of leaving Weiss alone that compelled her bodyguard to ask. At least if they made plans for after, there was a definite time they could be together again. A pointless worry, perhaps, but one that made Yang feel at ease.

"Yes, of course," Weiss told her patiently, patting her arm. "I'm all yours after that. Perhaps dinner, over at Penny's?"

Ruby turned to look at Penny with a shrug. "What do you think? I mean, I don't know your dads as well as you do."

"Oh, well… I mean, I'd have to ask them…" She held her chin in thought, tapping it as she formed a plan. "We'd need to get extra ingredients for dinner if we're suddenly having extra guests, but if we do all that ourselves I don't think they'll mind! Dad always manages to talk Father around even if things differ from the usual schedule."

"Huh… It'll certainly be an interesting night. Especially for you, Weiss." She began to smirk. Perhaps Weiss hadn't quite caught on, or assumed Yang was simply considering Weiss's status. By that point, of course, the diva's brow had started to furrow the slightest amount. She was mulling over those last few words from Penny in her mind.

"Dad talks to Father? But then… what's- oh." Both of her baby blue eyes flew wide. "OH! Wait, are you saying you have _two fathers?!"_

"O-Oh… Yes! Two wonderful fathers! I just tend to call one ‘Dad’ so they know whom I am addressing. Dad being the more relaxed of the two, of course. And Father is… Well, he's very stern…"

"Weiss's dad has some kind of iron rod shoved up his ass, too,” Yang chuckled. “So we'll be able to cope with either one. Still, dinnertime conversation will be delightful, huh?"

The diva folded her arms. "That man with the 'rod up his ass' hired you, didn't he? A little gratitude might be in order! After all, without him, you and I wouldn't be…"

Her voice trailed off as her eyes looked back toward the screen, slightly wider and more anxious than they had been moments before. Not that Ruby and Penny would probably be able to spot the difference. "Wouldn't… be… enjoying this beneficial arrangement of ours! Now, um, what time shall we expect dinner to be, Penny?"

"Um… so piano practice is at five thirty… my free time begins at six… Six-thirty? Is that a good enough time?"

Yang could see Weiss's slight worry, so she put arm around her, bringing her into her side to squeeze lightly. "Ooof _course_ it is, Freckles! Long as it's cool with your dads."

"Yes, please clear it with them first," Weiss laughed nervously. "And Yang has my number if plans should change, but she'll be seeing you in person tomorrow!"

A squeal loosed from Ruby as she clapped her hands. "This is so AWESOME! Okay, I'm gonna go help Penny ask them for permission and everything - talk to you later, sis!"

"Not if I talk to you first!" And with the click of a button, the call was ended. All Yang could do was squeeze Weiss even tighter toward her for a moment, before eventually releasing. "Are you absolutely sure about being out by yourself? It's been a while since that jerkface tried something, and we got him, but… I'm still worried about you."

"Don't worry so much," she reassured Yang. "You are supposed to be my bodyguard, yes, but not absolutely one hundred percent of the time! Another of our company's security can go with me, and then I'll just stay in my bus until you get back to take me to this Penny's house. It's not a problem."

"Yeah, but… now I have extra reasons to worry. Not just professional ones." She backed away for a moment, looking into the orbs of blue she had grown to adore over the past week. But even despite her worries, she had a smile to offer. "But I know you'll be fine. I'm not about to turn into some overbearing prick who bans you from going outside without me."

That notion did make Weiss smirk at the blonde. Glancing at the phone, just to make entirely sure the call had ended, she slid her hands around Yang's waist, nails scratching lightly at her abs through her shirt. "Ooh, are you sure? Doesn't the big strong Amazon want to chain up the princess in her dungeon?"

Said Amazonian woman could only growl in response, back arcing away from the fingers at first as she sat herself upright, deliberately trying to make herself seem as tall as possible to impress her 'princess'. Taking a quick glance at the clock, she then looked back and smirked. "We got time."

With an expression of giddy glee, Weiss dashed to the back of the bus, wailing, "Nooo, the Amazon will chain me up in her Tower of Terror! Whatever shall I dooooo?"

"C'mere, princess!" Yang smirked, dashing after her and toward the bedroom. But not before taking one thing that would serve into Weiss's request for their time. Her orange scarf. Weiss wanted to be chained up, she would have her request.

But when Yang got to the door, Weiss was on the other side, leaning against it. "Stay away, you brute! Or I'll unleash my magic powers on you!" The giggling sounded like that of a five-year-old, but clearly Weiss was enjoying herself.

"Magic powe- I swear if you sing 'Let it Go' or any of that Disney shit, I am coming for you twice as hard!" When she tried the door, it was stuck. And so she tried again, pushing at it from the other side. "You can't hide forever you know!"

"KEEP AWAY, YOU BRUTE!" she cackled as Yang slowly began to budge Weiss; she knew that between the two of them, there was no way she would ever win, and wasn't putting up a terribly hard fight in the first place. After a few more pushes, the door creaked open enough for her to reach through the gap, able to grasp her wrist. Even though she was giggling like a child, she still had a role to play.

_"Got'cha!"_

The squeal that leapt from Weiss's throat was so high-pitched that you almost couldn't tell it came from a person. She tried to pull away - which, of course, was a mistake, because it released the pressure from her side of the door, letting Yang inside. Bursting into the room, she grinned evilly as she used it to pull her in toward her, moving her hands to her hips instead. Repeating the action she did when they very first met, she hauled her up and onto her shoulder, carrying her over to the bed with ease.

"Think you can get away that easy, huh? I'll have to teach you a li’l lesson."

"A lesson?! But I am only a princess - I don't have to learn lessons! Put me down!" Her legs flailed and tried to kick Yang, but from that position it wasn't quite possible.

"Oh I think you'll wanna learn these. Lesson one!" Lifting her from her shoulders, she then threw Weiss down onto the plush surface of the bed. From there, she quickly climbed on top of her, straddling her hips to keep her pinned down. As Weiss looked up at her, she smirked right back, holding up the scarf and dangling it back and forth above her to tease her. "How to prepare your victim."

Weiss didn't have the slightest idea what might be in store for her next, but her curiosity had been piqued. What did Yang mean to do with that scarf? So vanilla were her fantasies that she couldn't think of a single thing; for her sheltered mind, it was already the height of decadence that she was sleeping with a woman at all.

"Prepare? Wh… what are you going to do?"

Yang had always felt this temptation to corrupt Weiss, to bring to light deeper and darker new ideas. Why was the idea of that so much fun? But either way, she managed to grasp one of Weiss's wrists, quickly wrapping the scarf around it and tying it into place.

"Make damn sure your hands don't leave that bed post."

"Wh- _WHAT?!" s_ he gasped out, genuinely shocked for a moment. But then she realized the scarf couldn't truly trap her if she struggled hard enough - just that it would hold her temporarily. "I m-mean, um… what do you plan on doing to me, you fiend?"

"This!" Looping the longer piece of the scarf around the post, she grasped Weiss's other wrist and pushed it upward to the same place, tying that to the same post to keep her down. Once satisfied with the binding, she leant back to marvel at her work, eyes raking her helpless form. A deep thrill was settling in as she watched Weiss test the binds, and struggle against them. She would be unable to stop her, unable to dictate her movements. She was in full control.

The pale cheeks were definitely flushed from their struggles, and from the knowledge of her current situation. Caught like a fly in a spider's web. Her hips shifted back and forth, her heart pounding in her throat. What would Yang do to her, now that she was completely powerless?

"I… I am yours, Amazon," she breathed, as if thinking this admission might get her to go easier on her.

"You're damn right," she whispered. To think, Weiss had only just done her hair when she first came out the bedroom, and now Yang was about to completely mess it up again. That and more. Her hands were quick to move to their goal, straight to the buttons on her low cut shirt. Even if she would be unable to remove it completely with her arms now tied, it would be enough to get her a better look of what was beneath.

Although, before she threw it open, she looked back up to the blue eyes. Yang was yet to see her body unclothed. In her underwear, sure, but not this much. Not yet. And perhaps Weiss wanted to keep it that way for longer.

"The safe word is ‘Half Caff Latté’, got it?"

The pop star's entire body had been tensed for her chest to be revealed to Yang for the first time, so shy had she been about putting herself on display up until this point. It wasn’t Yang; it was anyone. That wasn’t the kind of celebrity she had ever wanted to be, and still didn’t want to be; she had stayed away from anything risqué throughout her entire life. Therefore, the phrase was entirely lost on her.

"If I w… wait, what? Latte?"

Unable to help herself, Yang's Amazonian character broke, leaving her chuckling to herself for a brief moment while Weiss focused again. "'Half Caff Latté'. That's all you have to say if you get antsy, or uh, don’t like something I’m doing. Y’know, if our little game gets out of control and you need a break?"

"Oh." Her eyebrows were still knit in confusion, but eventually she repeated, "Half Caff Latte, okay." The poor girl had never even heard of "safe words", didn't know a thing about how that worked. But the concept made sense to her.

"Alright. Now back to business…" Straight back to the role again, she threw Weiss's shirt open. And what a sight she was greeted with indeed…

Weiss's skin was flawless. She clearly looked after it, given how fair it was all over. No marks, blemishes or scars to be seen; just creamy, supple flesh. The petite breasts were still hidden by her bra, but their size was clear now that she was half naked. Unable to help herself, she ran a hand down her cleavage, slowly down to the flat stomach.

"You're so fucking _hot_."

Shivering, Weiss turned her head aside, unable to meet Yang's eyes as she breathed, "Am I?" That seemed to be all she could say; too much of her attention was focused on ignoring the spike of fear, the nervousness.

"Yes," she reaffirmed, backing herself down from straddling Weiss's hips so she could lie on top of her properly, and kiss her collarbone over and over. It wasn't anything she knew would give the woman pleasure, but she hoped Weiss would feel it for what it was. Body worship. "This Amazon loves her princess…"

The shaky breath outward seemed to confirm that she was at least able to breathe again. Her hands came up to clutch Yang's body to her own-

And were held fast by her bonds. This impromptu game of theirs turned out to be so cruel! Only the light kisses kept her from shrieking when she was reminded again that she was tied up; Yang wanted to tease, not to frighten. Keeping that in mind helped.

But for Yang it was only making her chuckle even more. She was delighting in her seemingly cruel ways. Lower and lower her hands were sinking over Weiss's body, until they got to the waistband of her skirt. In the past week, this is where she struggled to get further. One way or another, Weiss protested, or made an excuse. And while Yang understood and obeyed, she never understood why. As she began to lower it slightly, she waited for Weiss's reaction.

The skirt being lowered did have an effect. Weiss began to squirm more, to seem more nervous. Nothing vastly more pronounced than prior to that, but just enough that it was noticeable. She raised her hindquarters to allow Yang to remove the skirt, but when she lowered them again, her thighs were very tightly clamped together – so much so that the muscles were visible in strong relief against her skin.

As she pushed the skirt away entirely, throwing it aside to the ground, Yang was beginning to notice just how clamped shut her legs were. Although she knew Weiss was nervous, she never suspected it would be this bad. Not to the point of straining to keep Yang from looking. And her underwear hadn't even come off just yet.

"What's wrong?" she asked in character, toying with the waistband of her underwear. "Don't you want your Amazon to ravage you?"

"Don't know wh-why she'd want to," Weiss managed to breathe shakily. The finger inside the waistband of her underwear was too much, apparently; too far past her comfort zone. She wasn't trying to dissuade Yang, or saying the café-related phrase that would bring everything to a halt.

But one look at her face showed that she was seconds from a panic attack. True, she wasn't allowing it to interfere with their play, but that didn't reduce or eliminate her reaction. All it took was one glance upward for Yang to know. Where she expected to see playfulness or lust in her eyes, she saw fear and sadness. She was tense all over, to a point when it was visible on her body. Perhaps she was only hanging on for Yang's benefit, but she wouldn't allow that to make her panic. And so, releasing the waistband, she backed herself off, sitting down to one side.

"Do you want me to untie you?"

"No," Weiss breathed unconvincingly. "I mean, um… yes?" Trying to recover their game had come out only sounding like she was finished with it, so she deflated again. "I don't know… I'm sorry."

But such uncertainty was enough to tell Yang the answer. Instead of continuing, she leant up to untie one of Weiss's wrists. "C'mon, you can tell me." Yang was now speaking genuinely, keeping her gaze to her upper half rather than down below. "You've been really tense when we've tried this. Not that I care! No rush, seriously! I just… you know you can tell me anything, right? I don't want you to be scared of me."

"You don't scare me." That came out sounding a lot more petulant than she meant for it to, so she sighed and tried again. "You don't. It's not that, it's… I'm… I just have never been comfortable letting anyone see my body. Especially not… th-that part of me."

The words tugged at Yang's very being. She knew that feeling all too well, although it was mainly in fear of what they would think rather than self-hatred. This seemed like the latter of the two. Not that she understood _why_ particularly.

"Why? I mean you're beautiful, I'm sure yo-" Biting her tongue, she stopped herself rambling on. Forcing her to explain would only make things worse. "I-I mean… You don't have to explain if you don't want to. There’s lots of other stuff we could do."

"You don't want to see it, trust me," Weiss breathed. Then her head raised up to gaze directly across at Yang, blue eyes shining with unshed tears. "Well… you probably understand better than anyone else would. Wanting to hide your body from other people. But you don't want to hear this from me – not when my problems are so stupid compared to what you've had to deal with."

To show she wasn't about to give in, Yang crossed her arms and legs as she sat by her side. "Try me."

For a long moment, Weiss rubbed her wrists and thought. This wasn't something she wanted to discuss. Ever. But Yang was willing to listen, whereas no one else ever had been even slightly interested – or someone she would really want to discuss this with in the first place. This actually _affected_ Yang and their budding relationship, and she had a right to know.

"Well… like I said, I know it's not the same. I do know that. But… when I saw that you have what you have, and when you told me about having surgeries, and all that? Because your body wasn't born the way you wanted it to look… or, um, however you'd say that. There was a little part of me that already knew what you meant. It's not the same, but it did help me understand where you were coming from a little better than I might have otherwise."

"So wait… what are we talking about here? Because if you’re about to tell me _you_ have a dick, I think I’m gonna faint."

“You already know I don’t,” she chuckled weakly. “You’d have felt it the way I felt yours. Because you’re so sexy, and laying on top of me like you do...” Her eyes dropped again. “No, I just don’t really like… certain things about my body. Little things.”

Things were starting to make a lot more sense. Yang had suffered with her self image, of course, but in a different way. Weiss seemed to be telling her that she hated how a part of her own body looked. And judging by the unshed tears, a lot.

"Is that why you were asking me about who I went to for my rack?"

"Who you went to? For… your boobs? _OH!_ Oh, no no _no,_ not my boobs!" She laughed a little with relief – it was good for her, from the look of things. "Though they are barely worth being called that, I'm fine with my pathetic cup size. All the tabloids demanding to know if I’m ever getting implants are wasting their time. It's…" Her voice got quiet again, though it was less fearful than it had been before. Her hands folded tightly in her lap. "It's somewhere else that I dislike."

Spying downward to where Weiss's hands had ended up, and seeing how tight Weiss's legs were still crossed, she could guess. "Right." But after a while, she finally took a step of bravery. "If you don't mind me asking… how come? Like, what’s the problem?"

"You wouldn't understand. I mean… you'd understand the whole idea of being dissatisfied, obviously! Like you said! But this will… UGH, I feel so nit-picky!"

"Weiss, it's not a contest," she reassured her, placing her hand on her thigh, far lower than she had before. Just enough so she'd be able to see it was reassuring rather than to continue their play. "I'm sure whatever it is, you probably see it as far worse than it actually is. But it's one hundred percent not going to matter to me, okay? No matter what, I’m not going anywhere, and I’m still gonna think you’re… _so_ perfect. "

There was a long pause as Weiss weighed that offer. The pros and cons, her own feelings. Her hand fell to Yang's and squeezed it hard - harder than she usually did just from holding hands.

"I'm… it's… lopsided."

Yang tilted her head. In regards to that area, she didn't really know what to expect from that comment. At least, not something that would make someone feel such a dislike for their own anatomy. "Huh? Lopsided?"

"Very." Her other hand came up to rub at her eyes, hard. "Ever since puberty, I've noticed that, and… and I don't know what to do about it, I know there’s a minor surgery to fix this, but I would have to admit that it's real to a DOCTOR to get it fixed! And it's just a stupid cosmetic surgery, and my father would be so disappointed with me for having anything like that done, and… and I don't know what to do besides live with it!"

Yang was confused. "Why the hell would your father have any say? It's a part of _you_ , it's got nothing to do with anyone else!"

"Oh, it's just how he's always felt about things like this. Body image, sexuality – I did ask him if I could get my boobs done once, not even completely certain I wanted to go through with it, and he shouted at me for almost an hour. Definitely shot that idea down."

Yang was trying to understand. Truly trying. But she simply couldn't grasp it. Her own father had always been so supportive of her, once the initial shock wore off and they had talked things through — even offering to help pay for her top surgery until Yang insisted otherwise. The very thought of any father _shouting_ at his daughter over that simply made Yang's blood boil.

"That's… That's bullshit! How fucking _dare_ he!"

Weiss was a little startled at this reaction from Yang. Not afraid, but puzzled. "Well… our bodies are a temple, aren't they? Father just sees them as being sacred. Changing them to suit the earthly standards of beauty is not only a waste of money, but in defiance of God." Then she shrugged and slumped down a little more. "Or that's what he believes, anyway. Not sure what I believe anymore."

All Yang could do was continue to stare out into space. She assumed her father had at least guessed about her condition, given that she had listed qualifications on her CV that were under her previous name. And yet if this is what he truly believed, he obviously didn't – else he wouldn't have hired her.

"Temples have to be built though, right?" She was trying to bring things into perspective, to try and explain in a way Weiss would understand. "And they're always being improved how _people_ want them. Not to how any god or whatever wants them to be. Your body is _your_ temple. And your father should get no say whatsoever in how you want it."

Then her hand went to Weiss's once again, giving it a small squeeze. "And if you want to get anything done, if you really feel like it'll help you, then you do it. Fuck what anyone else thinks."

"Yeah," she breathed quietly. She had been listening, but it all flew in the face of everything she'd ever known and was therefore a lot more difficult to take in. "But… it's… I don't know, it's not like with your chest, where it didn't match what you felt it should be. I already have the body I want, except f-for…" Wiping her eyes again, she added in a whisper of pure agony, "It's so _ugly_."

For a moment, Yang fell silent. It wasn't her right to dictate what was and wasn't ugly on the diva’s body, even if she'd had more than enough experience with such feelings. All she could do was listen, understand, be there for her. But perhaps she was in the unique position to offer more.

"Then what about a second opinion?"

"A second opinion? Where would I get one of-" Then Weiss smiled, though it was a tight, knowing smile. "You just want to get into my panties, you big lesbo."

Giving back a humoured smile, she tilted her head. "Got me. But seriously, I can pop the hood and take a look, if you wanted."

Weiss hesitated. Truly hesitated, looking up at Yang as if trying to tell if she was messing with her. "No. I mean… do you really want to? No, I can't ask you to do that. Or I could - but you don't want to stare at my weird vagina, it's… icky, and unpleasant."

"I put up with you when you thought I was weird and unpleasant, right?" That part was a joke. But the offer was not. That much was obvious when Yang placed her hands on her thighs, rubbing them slowly. "No part of you is ‘icky’, I can tell you that right now. Pinky swear if you want."

Weiss's blue eyes flew open, fingertips reaching for Yang's shirt. "You… you do?"

"I do. And I can tell you that even without seeing it. Because it's you." She then waited patiently for Weiss's next move. Whether that was to allow her to see or not, it didn't matter. Yang meant every word. Even in such a short amount of time, she adored Weiss. Far more than she could put into words.

And then, almost so slowly one could count the passage of time by minutes instead of seconds, Weiss's thighs began to part. She still didn't open them very wide or act as if she were looking forward to what came next, but she was at least amenable.

"You… may proceed. But if you agree with me that it’s weird-looking, I want your honest opinion – don't sugar-coat anything."

"Do I ever sugar-coat anything?" But before she could allow her to answer that, she did as she promised. Hands returning to the waistband of her panties, she began to pull them downward. Slowly, gradually… Until she slid them off her legs completely, and left them with her skirt. Her hands then returned to her thighs, and she looked back up to the tears in Weiss's eyes as she allowed her legs to part. It wasn't quick, but it also wasn't as slow as before; it seemed now that she had made the decision, there was no sense in delaying the inevitable.

As she had indicated, Weiss's labia were indeed slightly uneven; the one on Yang's right was perhaps half an inch longer than the other, and more wrinkled. Everything was quite pink, almost vividly so, and as she was open and on display, the hood over the top couldn't quite conceal her clit; that was also very nominally larger than was typical. Other than those minor notes, Weiss was entirely average.

Hands remaining firmly on her thighs, Yang did as she was told. Looking down toward it to gather a second opinion, her breath rustling the sparse, untrimmed white-blonde hair above. As she predicted, she didn't find it ugly at all. It was a part of Weiss, just as unique as the rest of her, and quite lovely to her viewpoint. Somehow it was more fitting that way, for her to be slightly different, to have a small quirk.

"It's just as beautiful as the rest of you, ya dork."

"No, it's not!" she burst out, voice full of tears even if she wasn't crying yet. "It looks stupid! Not that I r-really like how vaginas normally look in the first place, but come on, how can you _not_ think I'm a freak of nature?!"

For a moment, Yang looked back toward her, raising one eyebrow. Even without words, the message was obvious, that talking about freaks of nature to Yang was somewhat ironic considering how much she differed from 'normal'. But when she looked back down at her, and the larger-then-average clit, she couldn't help but smile again.

"It's not stupid. And I think your little button is really cute."

"A BUTTON!?" she demanded, curling to sit up and get a decent look down at herself. Once she figured out what Yang meant, she tutted and said, "No, no- I meant the lips! The _lips_ are weird! Does it really look like a button?!"

So _that_ was what Weiss found unacceptable, the thing that made her so frightened of revealing herself to Yang – or to even look at for herself before now. But for her partner, she hadn't even noticed – not until Weiss pointed it out. She tilted her head again, brushing one of her hands slowly inward toward it along her inner thigh.

"Weiss, your body is beautiful. It's not perfect, but I promise you… nobody cares whether or not any girl’s snatch looks like it belongs on a mannequin or something. I really like you exactly like this."

The exposed singer seemed to be unable to speak now. Yang was going to touch it. Going to touch her shame, touch it and say that it was beautiful. This couldn't be happening – she felt a compulsion to run away, to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming. But the hand was coming closer and closer, and all she could do was clutch at the sheets and squeeze both eyes shut.

When she saw her eyes were closed, Yang stopped her movements. She didn't believe anyone wanted to do this, truly thought she considered it ugly despite saying otherwise. There was only one way she could think of to show her she wasn't. She shuffled herself over on the bed, moving her position to between her thighs. Then laying on her front, head facing it, she held her legs open, leaning in to give the very shame Weiss thought she had… A kiss.

An anguished, strained cry loosed from deep in Weiss's throat. Pure alarm, and confusion, and a dozen other emotions she couldn't specify. Her eyes swivelled down to see the blonde hair poking up from between her legs.

"Wh… what?!" she was able to squeak. It only seemed to earn her another kiss. And another, and another – each one delivered to the lips themselves. Every part that Weiss disliked, she made sure to spoil, in the hope that she would understand how Yang felt. That she truly didn't think it was ugly.

"You… I can't believe you're touching that!" Weiss whispered, no longer so shrill and distressed. Now she was confounded beyond all reason. Yang was not only touching it, but touching it _with her mouth._ That was insane!

Add into that how it felt… but Weiss couldn't focus on that yet, she didn't have the mental fortitude. She knew she liked it, but beyond that, there was no examining the sensation.

But Yang didn't give her too long to focus on what the kiss felt like. Soon enough she was sitting herself back upright between her legs, staring down at the beautiful woman lying on the bed, still dumbfounded by her girlfriend's actions. Where her lips were pressed, a hand was brushing against the folds again, pressing inward slightly.

"Girl, it is the _best_ I’ve ever had."

A familiar moan escaped the diva as she laid back on the bed. This time, however, there was a touch of uncertainty in it, even more so than the first time Yang pleasured her through the fabric of her shorts. At least it had been concealed – now she was open, exposed! And Yang could actually feel how strange the shape of her sex was!

"You… are you sure?" she finally managed to pant a minute later. "It's not… you're n-not just saying that?"

"I'm sure." She further underscored her affinity for Weiss's body by pressing her hand firmer up against it, brushing up and down again to test how she felt about being touched there. Judging by the moan, she liked it a lot. "Amazon is all about her princess."

"R-really? You are?" Tears were rolling down the diva’s cheeks, leaking at last, but they seemed to be involuntary. Weiss herself was arching her back, clutching the sheets as the sensations assailed her – and _far_ stronger than the last time they had fooled around. If she had known it felt this good to tease them directly, she would have simply thrust Yang's hand down the front of her panties, the risk of her feeling her abnormality be damned!

As it was… she couldn't express the joy she felt at knowing Yang liked her body. Her silly, almost-perfect body with its jarring flaw. Until now, it had been one she could hide easily enough, but Yang wanting to treat all of her body with love and tenderness had blown past that defence. Now, there was nothing between the two of them.

"Yeah. It's so soft… It just feels so nice to touch, like the rest of you." Yang was about to lean back up to kiss her lips, but remembering where they had just been, she turned aside, pressing her lips against her collarbone instead. Never did her hand leave the exquisite flesh, making delicate movements over and over again – building to stronger ones.

Such actions – and hearing the reactions from Weiss – were causing her own “abnormality” beginning to throb against the fabric of her shorts and panties. And why wouldn't it? When something felt this good to touch alone, how good would it be to feel Weiss wrapped around herself?

"Oh… o-OH, Yang!" Little by little, Weiss widened her legs to allow Yang better access, relaxing into their new activity. Her back began to arch as her head fell back, and she knew she was loving this, that her reservations about being seen and touched directly had just gone up in smoke – at least when it came to one specific bodyguard. "How are you so good at this? _NNhhh,_ yeah!"

"Practice," she muttered against her neck, continuing to press her lips against it over and over again, kneading against the sweet skin. Maybe she wasn't going to tie Weiss back up again after all, but that didn't mean she was going to let their character roles completely slip away.

After a minute of simply toying, she leant upward to her ear, whispering in a low, gruff voice, "So how about it?" She punctuated her words by pressing her fingertips near her entrance. "How about your ‘amazon’ _truly_ takes her princess?"

"Wh-what does that even MEAN?!" she demanded weakly, clutching at Yang's upper arm with the left half of her perfectly-manicured nails. Seemed some innuendo still went directly over the sheltered girl's head.Staying by her ear, the bodyguard’s finger began to circle slowly so she could give her an idea. Weiss was so wet! Completely soaked and ready for this physically. But mentally, perhaps that was another story.

"Me, inside you, claiming your body. Making it feel good. Is that what you want?"

"You ins- WITH YOUR-" Weiss's eyes shot wide, and all those nails dug into the flesh much harder than before. "B-but that's… that would be…"

And the reality of their situation hit her. _Sex._ They were going to do more than just fool around, they were going to have actual penetrative sex – her first time. Virginity, impregnation… Her legs clamped together on the hand, not allowing it to leave but also not allowing it as much free reign as it had moments ago.

"Yang, I- is that what _you_ want? To really, um, sleep together?"

Yang remained completely still for a moment longer. The hand hadn't given her enough of a clue yet it seemed. Or had it? She leant up to look into her eyes. She needed to be sure she understood everything before continuing at all. "Weiss, I mean with my fingers, not with my… y’know. The other thing. But this isn't about what I want, it's about what _you_ want.”

The relief in Weiss’s eyes was complete and obvious. A few seconds later, her thighs relaxed and she let go of Yang's bicep. "Oh… well, I… we've never tried that, I don't know…" Perhaps this still wasn't something she had been expecting to try today, but at least it wasn't as unexpected as losing her virginity!

"Sure, it’s new, but it's something to try if you wanted. And I mean, I’ve never owned a vagina, but from what I hear, it’s… different." She gently pressed a fingertip up against the entrance properly, not enough to enter at all, but just enough to have her feel its presence, for her to grasp if she wanted more.

 _"Ooh…_ th-that's different, alright!" Gulping, the inexperienced girl pet up and down Yang's arm, almost as if trying to reassure herself as much as her partner. "Um… w-will it hurt? If you go inside, I mean…"

"Judging by how you feel down here…" Rotating her fingers around the area, Yang attempted to moisten her fingers as much as possible with Weiss's juices. She really was ready… "Pretty sure it won’t. But I'll go slow. Just let me know how it feels."

There was a long pause as Weiss considered her options. She could either refuse, continue to be afraid of anything below the waist for a few more months… or she could take the plunge. Find out just how incredible Yang could make her body feel with those strong, confident hands of hers. So far, she had already made her feel whole new vistas of pleasure with them. Might as well reach for the stars.

"Slow is good," she finally admitted as her thighs began to relax. "So… so we can try, I think."

"Okay. Then let's just…" Like the first time she and Weiss had tried this, she pressed her lips against Weiss's collar bone, continuing to kiss it over and over again as some form of distraction, something to keep her grounded. It was all she could do seeing as she probably wouldn't allow Yang to kiss her lips just yet.

And slowly, two of Yang's fingertips began to guide themselves down, entering the wet and wonderful warmth that was her girlfriend. Her diva. All she could do was continue to push deeper, and listen for her reactions.

"Wow!" she breathed, eyes flying wide as she felt something entering her for the first time. "This… it feels like so MUCH! Are you… using three fingers?! I thought you said you would go slow!"

"Just two," she reassured her between kisses, pressing more of them again and again as she pushed in further, and further. Once she thought she was deep enough for a first attempt, she began to draw them back out again.

And Weiss was appreciative. Even if she didn't know how to show it properly, having her inner walls stroked was an experience unlike any she had ever felt – it wasn't as strong as when Yang really got going stroking her through the shorts, but far stronger than merely caressing her outer lips a moment ago. Was this what women felt all over the world when being pleasured? How she had been missing out!

Each time Yang plunged her fingers back in, she reached a little deeper than before. And then she'd draw back out, then back in, over and over again in a slow pace to help her get used to the sensation. This was Weiss's first taste of what sex would be like. Only more was to come later in their relationship, but for now, Yang was going to help Weiss discover this. They both would together.

The fingers sparked an awakening within Weiss’s body. Up until that point, it had all been new, and gratifying, and beautiful. But something about this particular action… there was a "rightness" to it. Deep down in her rational mind, she knew it was a genetic need to be deflowered, to provide children into the world which made the actions associated with procreation pleasurable, but it seemed like more than that. Having Yang inside of her was the most satisfying experience of her entire life – moreso than a steaming latte, or a spa day, or singing in front of a crowd onstage.

Well… maybe not that last one.

"You're so warm…" It was all she could think about as she continued to push herself inside, gradually increasing her speed. Everything about her beloved girlfriend, Yang found flawless. The small squeaks she made as her body twitched, the feeling of softness that between her legs had, even if it was what she was ashamed of from the start. Everything only fuelled her own need. And as she lay by Weiss's side and kept kissing her neck, she couldn't help but begin to push her hips forward, grinding against her thigh. Her subconscious would do anything to try and satisfy the burning heat.

Against all expectations from either of them, Weiss felt the hardness up against her leg… and she _laughed_. It was a nervous laugh, but she couldn't help it; the very idea that eventually, that might be inside her… that was the most ludicrous thing in the world in that moment.

On the other end of the spectrum lay Yang's efforts to bring her to orgasm. Those fingers were most certainly anything but ludicrous. She loved them, she loved feeling her girlfriend up against her body, the lips on her collar… the fullness inside of her. Everything was magic.

Yang could feel a twitch from within the diva's body around her fingers which told her what she needed. That soon she would be at her end. To ensure that, she sped her fingers up even more, starting to curl them upward. She had fond memories of that working with Blake before, maybe Weiss was the same.

As it turned out, she was. Very much so.

"OOOHH!! Yang, that's- oh my _GOD_ , what are you _doing_ to me?! It's so much, it's- WHOOOOHAH!"

"That's it… Come for me, my princess." It was her last ditch effort to help Weiss finish, whispering into her ear in that same low-toned voice while she continued to push in and out of her at a higher speed. For her first time, Weiss really was weathering such treatment well. It only made her own thrusting against Weiss's leg begin to intensify. She could only begin to imagine their future, when their bodies would unite as one.

The squeals got louder and sharper as Weiss continued to let the fingers punish her insides, to tease this newly discovered spot that seemed to be made out of pure fire and emotion. Sparks blazed out from every fingertip and every toe as she writhed under her, mouth hanging open and panting with the effort of trying not to lose her mind.

"Yang! Yang, it's- it's happening! I'm going t-to- tooooOOOAAHHHH! YES! Yeah, more!"

"More? Alright!"

In her last ditch effort to push her to orgasm, Yang had increased the speed of her fingers as fast as she could against that spot. Instead of kissing more, she instead bit down against Weiss's neck, sucking at the flesh she had captured in her lips to mark her. The ultimate sign that she belonged to her.

One single bite was enough. Between the attention already being paid to her sensitive spot inside, the knowledge that it was Yang, and the unexpected flash of dull pain along her neck, the peak of her pleasure burst and rushed over her amidst a flurry of high-pitched squealing, limbs jerking and shivering. It was ten times more glorious than she had been expecting, and she loved every minute.

Savouring every moment, Yang delivered a few more firm thrusts with her fingers, allowing Weiss to ride out her orgasm right to the very end. Seeing her at the peak of her orgasm was the most wonderful thing she had experienced in a long, long time. The fact that she got to see it more than once in her lifetime was nothing less than majestic.

Finally, her hand came to a stop as her mouth released the side of her neck. She curled around her side, taking a moment to catch her own breath. "Good enough for you?"

The panting pop star could only nod as she lay there, blinking over at Yang with hazy blue eyes full of affection and appreciation. However, it didn't stop her hand from reaching down to caress Yang through her shorts. Only weakly, and only teasing, but enough to let her know that the thrusting against her thigh did not go entirely unnoticed.

 _"Hnn_ _hh_ _…"_ A rather sharp hum of pleasure sounded from Yang as her own sex got its turn to enjoy some attention. It was already at full length, and she hadn't even taken any of her clothes off. She had to change that. Suddenly she was rushing to fiddle with her jacket zipper, quickly pulling it down and tossing it aside, then immediately throwing her top along with it. She allowed Weiss to handle her lower half, knowing how much she enjoyed it.

This time, however, it seemed Weiss was feeling a bit more playful. A vague smile played across her face as she slithered a hand down Yang's shorts, the fingers gently surrounding the top side of her length and sliding up and down along it.

"Oh! W-Weiss?!" Was she going to get her off this way instead? And allow her to mess up her shorts and panties? Apparently so. Not that she would protest. Instead, she rolled over onto her back, allowing Weiss to have her way with her entirely, raising her arms above her head to show it.

"Mmmhh," Weiss sighed as she enjoyed the feeling beneath her fingers. One thing was for sure within her mind: she definitely wasn't "fully lesbian" if she enjoyed teasing a cock as much as she seemed to. And Yang's was even better, since it wasn't attached to some creepy guy. Win-win!

Eventually, Weiss regained her energy enough to roll over and begin stroking her in earnest, other hand tracing its way up and down her side. As she did so, listening to her girlfriend get closer and closer, a desire began to take shape in her mind. Something that had happened spontaneously once before, but not since… and the accompanying shame of the thought made her begin to blush and look away.

But as she managed to look up at last in the middle of her pleasure, she spotted such a blush, and such a nervous look. That wasn't from their current activity, Yang could tell that much. No… it seemed the diva had other plans for her. Just ones she was too nervous to speak of out loud.

"W-what'cha thi- _AH!_ What'cha thinking about?" she prompted in the middle of her pleasure, only just managing to hold on.

"Well… I was kind of- no, never mind," she cut herself off hastily as she fondled Yang, biting her lip to keep from speaking anymore. Though she saw Yang was still watching and waiting for her to talk. She had told her that her misshapen sex was beautiful, after all. Maybe there was nothing to fear. "I wanted… you to… do what you did that first time. Again."

"Do what I… Huh?" Yang hesitantly laid a hand on Weiss's to stop her pumping any further. If she did, she would finish before Weiss could even explain properly. "What thing was that?"

Obviously, Weiss was still extremely embarrassed about her request, but she closed her eyes and forced herself to whisper it anyway. "Finish on m-my face?" Then she waited, stomach clenched, for summary judgment. To be told she was a freak.

"Oh…" Just like that, Yang’s blush matched her partner’s, releasing Weiss's hand so she could continue again if she wanted to. Weiss wanted her on her face yet again, to mark her with her own juices. It seemed degrading to do it to her, and yet the thought was making her heat only spike.

Nodding to accept such a request, she went to unbutton her shorts, pulling them, and her underwear down and off to give Weiss ease of access. And Weiss kept jerking, albeit at a slightly slower pace so as not to drive Yang over the edge too soon. At the same time, she was also crawling backward off the bed with a slow and steady pace. Seemed she was headed for the floor.

All the while, Yang grasped at the sheets instead, leaning her head back against the pillows in an effort to try and hold on. If she came too soon, it wouldn't be satisfying enough. Not to mention it wouldn't land where her girlfriend wanted it. But Weiss's hand was too good for her to do that for too long!

But by that point, Weiss was literally pulling Yang toward the edge of the bed by the appendage in her hand. The choices were to follow, or to have it pulled at in a way that was less than enjoyable, so she followed. Then she was sitting on the edge of the bed, Weiss kneeling before her.

"You… you ready, baby?" she panted, licking her lips, clearly more excited than even she herself had anticipated.

Now sat on the edge of the bed, Yang found her breath coming quicker and more shaky, her end getting closer and closer. The knotting in her stomach got worse with each pump of that delicate hand, her mouth hanging open as she tried not to blow too soon.

"Y-Yeah!" she called out, grasping the sheets once more. "K-Keep going, Weiss! You're so… _so_ fucking good!"

Being told she was "good" only made Weiss want to stroke the hot length faster, to kiss the tip of it – she didn't dare take it inside her mouth again, for fear Yang would finish that way. Not when she had already expressed her desire for something else.

"Yeah, Yang! Make me dirty for you!" Where were these words coming from?! They completely baffled her when she heard them escaping her own lips, but they also seemed to make a certain kind of sense. Not that they should have. Not that she understood why.

And so she rolled her hips with Weiss's movements, pushing herself against the relentless hand to get herself over the limit. Until at last, she called out loudly, grasping the sheets below as tightly as possible for when she felt the pleasure sear through her body. Muscles tightening, she felt her length throb in Weiss's hand as she got her wish. Yet again her seed was expelled, the tight grip causing it to spurt hard against Weiss’s face… just as she had requested. Some on her cheeks, some on her chin. It was far more this time compared to the amount that accidentally landed before.

Of course, Weiss had been expecting to flinch and turn away, despite her earlier enjoyment of this – and her own want for a repeat performance. Maybe it had been a fluke that she liked it last time. An empowered woman like her, one who was an international household name, couldn't want to be a mere canvas for sperm!

 _Dead w_ _rong_. Each and every place the warm wetness splashed against her face felt like it was crackling with electricity. Again, Yang was marking her – as she had with her neck in a different way. A moan escaped her, almost like she was being pleasured directly. There was so much, and she wanted more! Wanted Yang to cover her completely in it!

But alas, after a few more pumps, Yang had no more to give. She found herself having to hold Weiss's hand again to stop her rubbing her raw. God she was desperate for this! Never had she met anyone who actually wanted to be drenched in her juices, not to mention craved it enough that she'd try to force more of it out of her.

Finally allowed to come down from her high, she panted with pleasure, looking down to admire her work on Weiss's face. Which forced her to blush all the way to her blonde roots. "H-Holy… crap…"

Seemingly unable to help herself, the painted princess wrapped her lips around the head to devour what she couldn't wear. As muted and thick as ever it was, and still she didn't mind it – but she forced herself not to keep stroking. Yang had told her before that sometimes, keeping it up after it was “done” hurt more than it felt good.

This was amazing. Yes, it was beginning to become too much, it was starting to overstimulate her senses and wander into the painful territory; but the sight was amazing. Seeing this precious person in her life, a woman unanimously voted one of the most beautiful rising stars in North America, so dedicated to worshipping the dirtiest part of her body to the point that she was licking up the remains off her head… it was a sight she didn't want to forget.

 _"God,"_ Yang moaned, tensing her muscles once again. "Y-You have… _no idea_ how hot you look."

What she was doing looked good? Yang wouldn't have said so if she didn't mean every word. So Weiss slowed right down, the tongue moving in an almost lazy fashion as it swirled around the head. Maybe at this speed, it would be less torturous and more of a spectacle for her girlfriend.

It really was. Yet again, Weiss had gone above and beyond to make this a show for her. All while her face was still covered. "Fuck. I wish-" Swallowing, she placed a hand on Weiss’s where it lay on her thigh to signal to her to pause for a moment. "O-Okay, uh, this is gonna be such a weird request…"

Pulling her mouth back for the moment, Weiss actually laughed – a weak, nervous laugh, but a laugh all the same. "Weirder than the one _I_ just made?! This I _have_ to hear!"

Perhaps it was weirder. Considering once Weiss was finished, she could pretend it never happened, no one would be any the wiser… unless she relented. Reaching toward her shorts and into the pocket, she held her phone up. "Can I… take a pic?"

That did pull Weiss up fast. She froze entirely, looking between the phone and her girlfriend's face. "Oh. Um… wh-why? I mean, uh, I haven't thought ab- about…"

Weiss couldn’t handle the idea of this the same way an ordinary girl could. All she could think about was that one picture getting out, and what the fanbase would say if it did. Or social media platforms, or talk show hosts. Scandal couldn't even begin to describe the situation! Of course Yang would never post it anywhere, she trusted her… but what if her phone got hacked? Or lost?

"Well… you… have to promise me you'll be careful with it if you do," she finally finished meekly.

"Completely," Yang agreed, holding the phone back into her lap to take a decent aim for her and snapping one of her coated face, pouty lips slightly open. She obviously couldn’t hear any of Weiss’s internal worries, so all she could do was guarantee her own fortitude. Truly, Yang wasn't thinking of the implications. To her, Weiss was another person. Her girlfriend. Of course, she respected that she was well known, but it wasn't an issue Yang thought of. She was just going to treat her how she would treat any other if she loved them the same way. "It's just for me, or us. I promise."

The idea of it excited the confused diva, even as it terrified her. Yang having this small thing… maybe it was depraved of her, but she couldn't help but love the idea that Yang had something with which to _blackmail_ her, should she ever treat her poorly. Why was that? It was more than a little messed up to like that idea.

Then it hit her: because Weiss was her _boss_. That was the truth of it, and it hit her with the force of a sledgehammer: all along, sleeping with someone who was technically an employee – even if it was of her father and not her directly – had bothered her slightly. That power imbalance. She was the star, she had all the “relationship capital” in her possession. This was a very unconventional way to balance those scales. Yang probably wasn't thinking about anything of the kind whatsoever, but for her, that was somehow very, very important.

"Do you…" Swallowing down her fears, her manicured fingernails repositioned themselves around Yang as her mouth formed words she never thought it would. "Do you want me with your cock in my mouth, or… l-licking it?"

"Whatever you want… you’re the one in the pic." She smirked as Weiss got into position, adding, "And if you want any pictures of me doing similar things… you only have to ask."

She couldn't help herself. "Actually, if you can take a picture of you licking your own cock, that would be… pretty unbelievable, and worth money in some way or another, I'm sure!"

Rolling her eyes, Yang giggled. "I can always give it a try if you wanna pay for the back surgery afterward." She raised the camera up to get the best angle, she waited for Weiss to get back into position. Why was this so enjoyable? Never before did she want a photo this degrading of a loved one, not of them covered in her semen at least. But she wanted it with Weiss.

And with a click of the shutter, she had it. "Perfect."

Reeling her tongue back into her mouth, Weiss whispered, "Take another," as she wrapped her lips around the girth of Yang's phallus again. It was exciting, taboo… _everything_ was.

Yang's eyes snapped wide open. When she thought the diva couldn't surprise her anymore, she did it again. Weiss, who before Yang came along was abysmally Christian and would have probably never envisioned doing this in her wildest dreams, was offering not just one pic but a full spread. And she didn't take away that joy. Just as commanded, she took another, and one more when Weiss slid slightly more of her into her mouth.

After hearing the two more shutter clicks, Weiss did let go at last and patted Yang's leg as she stood up – and her legs seemed to not want to support her. "Whoa… okay, n-note to self; sex makes it hard to walk sometimes!"

"You're telling me! First time I was the bottom I couldn't walk for a couple of hours…" Yang seemed to pass that off as no big deal at all. Of course to her, it was completely normal to talk about, since Weiss knew she'd been with men and women. But maybe she hadn't thought about that aspect.

Filing away the information about Yang not being able to walk at all - and why that might have been the case – to be examined later, Weiss glanced over at Yang. "Um… c-can I see the pictures?"

Yang did as Weiss asked, bringing up the few photos she'd taken as she moved to one side so she could sit with her.

And the subject of the pictures felt very strange. Partly sick, partly turned on… but partly like she was having some out-of-body experience. That girl on the screen couldn't be her, covered in cum and choking down such a massive member. But it was. Almost as if to drive home the point to herself, her hand reached up to touch a corresponding drip of essence to where it was on the screen… and sure enough, there it was. Now that it had been in the open air so long, it was cool to the touch, and felt almost icy on her cheeks and chin. Against her finger, it just felt as it always did: like fluids.

"And it won't leave this phone. You can slam my dick in a bear trap if it does; swear to God, Weiss."

But upon seeing Weiss touch her face, and touch where her juices still were, she couldn't help but blush again. She'd pumped as much as she could out of her, yet was still keeping it on her face. Something about that bought a sick feeling of power over the diva she had never felt for anyone before.

But alas, fantasy had to end. Thankfully, she had her shorts to hand, due for a wash anyway. "Want me to get that?"

"What?" she breathed numbly as Yang laid her phone aside. "Oh… oh, yeah, I guess." Her hand dropped away as she stared into the distance, lost in thought.

Shuffling closer, Yang began to dab away at Weiss's cheeks, wiping up every drop off of her face. Once finished, she tossed the shorts into the washing basket, but then noticed Weiss's thousand-yard stare. "What's up?"

"Nothing." Then she shook herself a bit, turning to look at Yang. "Seriously, I'm just… everything is changing so fast. My whole life. Things I thought I would never do are happening, sometimes two or three at a time. Which… it's not a bad thing, but it's unexpected." Her shoulders shrugged modestly, and she was suddenly aware of how naked she was. "You… you don't think I'm turning into a… a _bad_ person, do you?"

Yang wrapped an arm around her back, bringing her into her just to give her a gentle squeeze. "No. Discovering yourself and doing what makes you happy doesn't make you bad. Screw what anyone else would think."

After a few seconds, Weiss's body slowly began to relax. "I know you're right – I _feel_ it, not just that I believe you, but it feels right to me. But all I can hear is my father in my head, telling me that girls who do stuff like we just did are ‘sinning’ and going to Hell, and it's- and I d-don't…" Sighing, she made herself shut up and just hug Yang back. Her words were only going to keep going around in circles if she didn't stop now.

Yet again, Yang held her close and pet over her hair softly. Everything was so alien to her. She knew Weiss's dad was strict, considering how much he insisted from the start that Weiss needed a guard, but to this level? And that was what Weiss had to deal with all her life, being told that doing what she wanted was sinful. To the point that she even hated a part of her own body…

"The way I see it," Yang began, "as long as you're a good person to everyone else, like you treat people well, don't deliberately hurt anybody, don't steal, all that crap… I can't honestly see how an all loving god can punish you for just having fun with a friend. That’s dumb."

"Yeah… yeah, that _sounds_ like the truth to me. Just don't know if I believe that, or what my father does." However, she finally sagged against Yang tiredly, gratefully. "But… I'm leaning in your direction. Figuratively, _and_ for real."

"Good. Cause it's my way or the highway." Again, she pressed a kiss against the top of Weiss's head. This whole relationship was an adventure of self-discovery for both of them. Even if Yang had been with women prior, she still hadn't been with any since she transitioned. And of course for Weiss, it was all entirely new.

But one thing the bodyguard was positive of was that she didn't want it to stop anytime soon.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER: Action only [no smut]

**=Chapter 13**

“Hey, Snow Bunnies! Check out where I am!”

The camera panned over to the backdrop of Times Square. Lights flashed and blinded the viewer, turning everything into a smear of colours as it slid back to Weiss’s poorly-lit face, grinning from ear to ear. Her other hand nipped a strand of white-blonde hair behind her ear as the first raised the phone on its selfie stick a little higher.

“Big things are gonna happen in the Big Apple! I’d say more, but who wants all their surprises spoiled? Certainly not me! See you soon!”

As she waved vigorously before tapping the button to stop recording, Yang approached from behind the camera and chuckled. “You sound like the biggest cheeseball.”

“Quiet, you. The fans like to see that I’m happy and my energy is up. Don’t ask me why, but it’s kind of… reassuring? Just watch Demi Lovato’s stuff, it’s all either silly or inspirational. They expect me to be positive and they have every right to expect it by now. I can’t let them down.” Then she put the phone and the selfie stick away. “Now let’s go before someone watching my Insta realises where I am and tracks me down!”

Even as she said that and they turned toward the Yamaha, there came a squeal of several young female voices from deep in the crowd. “Uhhh, too late – get on! Now!”

Yang didn’t wait, but picked her up and stuck her on the seat. They were roaring away from the curb just as a knot of superfans broke through the rest of the throng, starstruck looks in their eyes. What a lucky near-miss.

“Are you sure you’re going to be alright?” she asked Weiss as she dropped her off at the bus a short while later.

“Stop worrying,” her principal sighed with a roll of her eyes, handing her helmet back. “I’m fine. You are not our _entire_ security team. Go see your sister.”

“Okay.” Glancing around to make sure no one was watching, she darted in for a quick peck on her lips, making sure it didn’t turn into anything longer just in case they were caught. “See ya soon.”

“I’ll be counting the seconds.” The smirk made sure that Yang didn’t know whether or not she was being sarcastic.

The streets of Manhattan were terribly busy at all times, and almost impossible to navigate. However, equipped with her bike and the GPS on her phone, Yang did manage to find her way without losing herself in the shuffle. Also, without having to untangle the clusterfuck that was the subway map. Now that they had taken care of Weiss’s little social media check-in, they could get on with the rest of their night.

A quaint little place in the upper east side was where Ruby and Penny had selected for their meeting – at Penny's insistence, her being the native. Chinatown would be the more desirable place for dining, since it would remind her of her dad’s cooking, but it was a lot further away from both where the tour bus was parked, and Penny's home in Astoria. A reasonable compromise.

Finally, she managed to find a decent place to park, pretty close to the small bubble tea establishment for which Penny gave her the address. Yang had never tried bubble tea herself, but when Penny and Ruby insisted, she couldn't exactly say no. She had chosen the very same outfit that Ruby and Weiss helped her purchase the first time they met up, a small token that she hoped Ruby would recognise.

As she stood on her toes to try and find the two, she spotted the same mess of ginger hair in a corner booth, sat beside what she thought was Ruby. So right away she headed over, sitting herself down on the seat opposite.

"YANG!" Ruby gasped, then grinned as she threw her arms forward – and was stopped by the table between them. _"Hllgg!_ Whoops, heh…" Scratching the back of her head sheepishly, she sank back down next to Penny. "But I'm so glad to see you, sis!"

"Right back at you, nerds! Happy Easter!" Yang grinned, settling herself down opposite Ruby. The other two had already gotten their drinks, but Yang wasn't too concerned. She just wanted to catch up with her sister. "I still can't believe you're here! How the heck did you pay for your ticket?"

That caused Ruby to blush slightly, and she glanced at her companion out of the corner of her eye – who was currently sipping tapioca pearls up into her straw. "Well… Penny paid my way. One of her dads is a lawyer, so…"

"Hmm?!" Accidentally swallowing one of the bubbles unexpectedly, Penny had to cough and beat her chest to try and force it down right. Once sure it had settled, she quickly looked around to Yang. "S-sorry. Yes! Dad paid for one half of her flight, and I've offered to pay the rest out of my savings. I get more allowance than I usually need, so I was more than happy to!"

"Cool. Well, as long as you both don't mind! I'm so glad you’re in town." Quickly bringing out her phone to check the time, Yang scratched the top of her head nervously. It would be four hours till she could see Weiss again. No matter how confident she was that Weiss would be alright on her own, she was still worried.

"Wow, are we that boring already?" Ruby attempted to joke when she noticed Yang checking the time. But when Yang didn't answer immediately, her smile slipped a notch. "Wait, are we?!"

"Huh? Oh! Nononono! I was just seeing if Weiss messaged. I'm just… it’s my job, y'know?"

As Yang rested her cell phone on the table, Penny stood up, looking over at both of them. "I'll fetch Yang a drink while you two catch up on things, shall I? You did say you had lots of Weiss-related questions."

"Oh! Um, sure! Yang, what'll you have? I like the melon one," she added in a whisper.

"Um… I've never actually been to these kinds of places before. Y'know what, fuck it – surprise me!" As Penny nodded politely and left, Yang looked over to her sister again, quickly flipping her cell phone over so the screen was down – proving she was giving Ruby her complete and undivided attention. Where to start?! There was so much she wanted to say about their touring together that she hadn't had time to before. About the attack that happened, about Weiss in general, about Blake…

In the end, she settled for something else. "So… Penny's pretty nice, huh?"

Both of Ruby's cheeks lit up as she grinned, pushing her glasses further up her nose. "Oh yeah, she's totally the best! I can't believe I got so lucky with her as my roomie - I mean, she's cute, she's smart, she's nice, AND she actually cleans up sometimes instead of being a slob like-" Her words clipped off when she realized she was about to say "like you", but she had the good grace to look slightly abashed for the near miss.

Yang simply smirked at the near slip. Ruby tended to only ramble this much about a subject if she was very passionate about it, like with Weiss, or her studying, or Zwei. Things were beginning to add up in Yang's mind…

"So being here instead of home, that was your idea? Or Penny's?"

"Penny's. I mean, we both kicked around the idea of hanging out in New York sometime, like, a lot, but she was the one that asked if I'd wanna do Spring Break here and stay at her family's place and all that." Then she grinned. "Isn't it _exciting?!_ I'm in New York _City!!!"_

"Yeah! It still blows my mind that we're the other side the country, and you're here at the same time!" After taking a glance to see how far Penny was down the queue, she turned back to Ruby, slinging an arm over the empty chair next to herself. "So, what are her parents like?"

"Oh, her Dad's super nice, really chill and homey!" Then her expression turned a little more uncertain. "Um… her Father, on the other hand… it's not that he's mean to me or a bad person, he's just kinda strict, and hard to warm up to, I guess."

"He really does sound like Weiss's dad…" But as soon as she let that slip, she quickly snapped her eyes open. Yang wouldn't know that unless she was extra close to her idol, and that was the last thing she wanted Ruby to suspect. "I-I mean, like, he's pretty strict with the rules I have to follow. No photos, no unscheduled signings, yadda yadda."

However, Ruby wasn't quite _that_ thick. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Yang, contemplating. "Why are you acting so funny about Weiss's dad? Is he being mean to my sister?" Suddenly, she shot to her feet. "I'll show him a thing or two about how my sister gets treated!!!"

"Ruby! _Ruby!"_ She held her hands outward, trying to gesture for her to sit back down before any more attention was drawn to them. Checking the coast was clear, she laughed before whispering, "I meant mean _to Weiss_. Like… she's not allowed to do what she wants, dress how she wants, think for herself. She may be a popstar, but she still has so many rules set by him that she kinda feels boxed in sometimes."

"Oh…" That didn't seem to cheer her up much, but she did at least sit back down. "That's really not cool; I mean, she's such an awesome person – and obviously she's accepting of you, and she was so nice to me! She’s great how she is! So what's the point in him being so, so… control-ey?"

Yang shrugged her shoulders. "That's what I don't get; she’s got a better head on her shoulders than most people ten years older than her, and yet he treats her like she’s five. I mean…" She looked around a moment. Sure, she wasn't about to let the fact that Weiss and her were an item out of the bag, but there was a factor she remembered Weiss's father telling her before the tour began, one that Yang always cringed at when she remembered. "Even if she wanted to, I'm not allowed to let her, y’know, take anyone back to the van. If that's not controlling, I don't know what is."

"You mean she can't even have friends over? To her own tour bus?!" A little slow on the uptake, she seemed to eventually catch on to what Yang was implying, and the little sister blanched. "Ohhhh, you mean- WOW, that is SO none of his business! Geeze!"

"I know, right? He has no right to dictate that kinda stuff…"

But the blush was only growing against Ruby's cheeks as she fidgeted with her cup, staring into space. "I mean, if Weiss happens to find somebody she likes, and wants to take them back to her room… kiss them, play with their hair… maybe even let them give her a back massage… or I _could_ go lower than her back…" Then she sat bolt upright, mortified. "THEY! _They_ could go lower than her back! Not me, I didn't mean me!"

Shit. Of course, how could she forget? Ruby had a huge crush on Weiss. Considering the more recent circumstances between them, that made her big sister start to feel very awkward. After all, this was now her _girlfriend_ Ruby was talking about – but she definitely couldn’t say she felt weird hearing her talk that way about her now, since their relationship was on the down low. Curling a finger through her hair, she tried to look to one side to shield her own blush.

"Y-Yeah… I mean, she can do what she wants. None of her dad’s business."

"Exactly! Up to and including massages! Or more!" Whispering to herself, she added, "No, don't think about 'more' - you promised not to do that!"

Yet again, Yang couldn't look at her sister. She'd give this all away if she asked her to stop, but to let her continue was only making things more and more uncomfortable. Scratching her head, she said quietly, "Don't tell her dad, but I… tend to look the other way when her… _partner_ visits."

"Partner? Oh, so she…" Then her eyes went really round, and she leaned as close as she could, hissing under her breath, "Y-you mean Weiss has a _secret_ _lover?!_ And the tabloids have no idea?!"

That only caused her blush to intensify. Thankfully, she figured Ruby wouldn't suspect a thing. "Oh yeah, for a little while… somebody already close. But I can’t say anything – and you didn’t even hear this much from me, okay?!"

Something like a tiny squeal sounded deep in Ruby's throat, but muffled enough so that no one from other tables would probably notice. "I'm so freaking _jealous!_ Wait, so who is it? No no no, don't tell me – I shouldn't know, oh I shouldn't know about this, but I wanna know _so bad!"_

Finally managing to handle herself enough, she looked back around, letting out another small nervous laugh. "Maybe when the tour is over. It's… really no one special. But she wouldn't want that info getting out anywhere – and I _know_ you would never do anything with it, but you can't be too careful who hears."

"Who hears what?" Penny asked, placing the drink down in front of Yang. From the looks of things, she'd chosen orange juice to go with melon bubbles. Sitting herself by Ruby's side, she went straight back to her own tea, even though most of the bubbles had gone.

“My point exactly,” Yang snorted.

"N-nothing!" Ruby laughed nervously. "Just, you know… stuff! And things!" She gestured between Yang and Penny. "So, um, this is my sister; Sister, this is my Penny!"

Instantly Penny's eyes were just as round as Ruby's were, a blush joining the freckles on her cheeks. One of those words was certainly the cause. Leaning in toward Ruby, she nervously whispered. "R-Ruby, I thought we weren't telling her about that yet…"

"About what?" Her eyes crossed slightly as she ran back over what she had said, and then she slapped herself in the forehead. _"D'oh!_ Th-that wasn't what I meant, I just got my words all mixed up!"

"So… _your_ Penny, huh?" Yang could turn it to her advantage this time. At least it shifted the subject away from Weiss for a little while, and eased Yang's worries. As a bonus, she loved watching her sister get embarrassed.

And Penny wasn't helping at all when she just covered her face instead, groaning loudly into her hands. "Gosh darn it, Ruby, she knows!"

Slowly but surely, Ruby started melting down into her chair, covering her head with one of her various hoodies; today, it was a green one with a big white symbol in the middle from some comic book series or other.

"So I take it Ruby's the dominant one in this relationship! This just gets better and better!" Yang was teasing, quickly drinking a large portion of her tea. It wasn’t bad, even if the sensation of the tapioca pearls sliding down her throat was a little weird. But mostly, she was just glad to have it as a welcome distraction.

Although it seemed the other two needed it more. Penny especially, who could only cover her face with her hands. Although realising Ruby was vanishing under the table, she quickly pulled her back up. "Don't leave me alone with her! It was _you_ that made it obvious!"

"Well… well it was… OH SHUSH, I didn't mean to and you know it!" All that was visible was her nose and mouth, and even then you could still tell she was beet red.

"Come on, your big sister wants details! Who asked who? When did it start? Were you roommates before or after it happened?"

Yang was going to keep insisting until one of them gave an answer. And now that she had ran out of drink and was left with just the few bubbles, Penny knew it was going to be her. Clearing her throat, she looked over to Ruby nervously as she held her hand under the table, and then back to Yang. "Well… Ruby and I were roommates from the beginning. We got along rather well, liked many of the same movies and books and things… and the relationship developed into a more romantic one from there."

"Yeah," Ruby added quietly, finally peeking out now that Penny had made it acceptable for them to be more open. "Um, I mean, I've never had a girlfriend before, so this is super new to me, so… but I mean, um… I can't imagine life without her now. Is that weird, this soon?"

Oh, the things that Yang wanted to say about her own experiences. Especially those recently. But for now, she had to smile, and simply shake her head. "That's not weird at all. First love makes people feel all kinds of ways. I mean, you know what I was like with Blake…"

At that, her sister tilted her head slightly. "Yeah, you said in a text that you saw Blake again, right? Was that… I dunno, awkward? Not awkward? Like I said, this is all new to me, so I don't know how it is seeing old girlfriends or anything…"

"No, actually! I think… I think we both needed it. I mean, we left on a somewhat bad note before; not _fistfight_ bad but… heartbreak bad. But we're almost to the besties level again now. She has a new boyfriend now who seems pretty cool."

"Aww," Ruby sighed. "Was meeting the boyfriend weird? Yet again, another thing I know nothing about, but that seems like it would be worse than just seeing her again by herself."

Yang was half way through chewing one of the bubbles as she shook her head, swallowing before continuing. "Well… At first it was, sure. But after a while, nah. He seems like a down to earth guy, reminds me of me before I came out. Guess Blake has a type!"

At that, Ruby smiled slightly. "Really? You think maybe he's…"

She gestured to Yang with her cup, a very non-specific gesture that would make nothing obvious to anyone who didn't know about the bodyguard's gender history. It took Yang a moment to realise, until she gasped, "Oh! No. Least… I'm pretty sure he's not." But on that note, she gazed into nothing for a moment, trying to remember what she could about him. Specifically, a comment about sizes. "Aaand from something Blake said, I don’t think he’s a trans dude, either."

"That'd be cool, though! You could be buddies!" Then she glanced at Penny slightly nervously before adding, "And, um, maybe you can give him some… tips? With Blake? What she, uhhh, _enjoys?"_

"Ruuuubyyyy!!!" Yet again Penny was hiding her head in her hands, cheeks as red as Ruby's usual hoodie. All of which was making Yang smirk and chuckle to herself. Penny was just as much fun to wind up as her sister was!

But nonetheless, she leant in toward her, whispering, "Never underestimate the power of some dedicated foreplay. That's all I'll say in public."

Which was plenty to make Ruby turn even redder than Penny. "Ummmmm I have go to the bathroom!" she squeaked as she hopped up, sprinting for the corner of the establishment.

"Hey, don't leave me alone with her! Ruby!!!" But Penny was left with no choice as she watched her girlfriend vanish into the bathrooms, left only with a red face, and the now laughing older sister. As she ran her hands through her mass of ginger hair, she laid her head on the table and groaned. "This dinner is going to be so embarrassing…"

* * *

 

A very self-satisfied Weiss Schnee strolled into a mid-sized music store in Midtown Manhattan. By all online reviews, Williams Music was known for having top-of-the-line instruments, even if they didn't have a lot of variety due to space constraints. However, she was after was one specific instrument – which they definitely stocked. She had called ahead to be completely certain.

Spotting an employee lingering by books of bass tabs, she said in a polite-but-frank voice, "Excuse me. I need to purchase a guitar."

"Other end of the store," was the abrupt response of the store clerk. Her look was fitting for this type of establishment; bright green hair swept to one side, with a purple hoodie on top to hold it together. She certainly seemed the type to spend many hours tuning her bass under a blacklight. But despite the fact that all she was doing for the moment was chewing gum and reading, she didn't even stop to look at who asked her.

"Yes," Weiss began again, mood only slightly dampened by the attitude of the clerk. "I'm sure that's where they are located. But I'd like to make sure I get the best you have."

The employee finally set her book down. Of course, her attitude was still no better as she first looked her form up and down, before she started to pace toward the back of the shop. She didn't even stop to check if she was following! After all the preferential treatment she had received the past couple of years, Weiss was sorely tempted to whip off the sunglasses and the beanie she had stuffed her hair into. Why shouldn't her star power command a little respect? But she had promised Yang she wouldn't take unnecessary risks, and she aimed to keep it. Besides, it was kind of nice to have someone treat her just like anyone else for a change.

Finally, they arrived at an array of guitars along one wall. Most of them were various high-end electric models, racked up next to electric basses. However, there were six or so acoustics on display, and they all looked nice enough.

"Excellent! So… which one would you recommend? I'd pick the most expensive, but that's not always the same as buying the best."

"If you got money to burn then go for the Epiphone, I don't care." Turning back around toward her, she gestured to the black guitar, one that had a few white markings painted over it. There was no immediate response. Picking up that she was unimpressed, the clerk sighed. "What skill level is the player at? Unless it’s _you._ " The last was tacked on purely for spite, insinuating that Weiss couldn’t possibly be a musician.

"Expert on Guitar Hero." After a few seconds, Weiss folded her arms. "Fine. She's got some real talent that I want to encourage – and I intend for the guitar to reflect her talent level. Also, I want it to last a long time, so nothing made with flimsy parts."

Looking at the racked up guitars again, the punk paced down slightly to the plainish yellow guitar, one that had a mottled brown-and-red pick guard below the sound hole. "Then you want a Yamaha JR1. Pretty mid-range pricewise, durable. For her skill level, it'll be the best choice."

"Hmm, that particular brand would be quite fitting…" Brushing over the surface with her fingertips, Weiss eventually took it from the employee and hefted the weight. "Seems solid enough.” Then she played a couple of easy chords, tuned a peg very slightly and tried again. It piqued the employee’s interest a little more, though she didn’t comment directly. “Does it come in any other colours? This finish is nice, but seems a bit… common. If the sound and quality will be the same, I would rather get her something that shows I put more thought into the gift."

"Nothing stoppin' you gettin' a paint job. But we have a catalogue of the ones we offer right… here." Picking out a small book from the shelf under the display, she quickly flicked through the pages until she found the Yamaha section. Then she handed it over to Weiss.

After a few seconds, Weiss took her sunglasses off and clipped them to the front of her shirt as she glanced down the selections. There weren't many besides the yellow finish; a natural one, a cherry red one, and one that seemed to take the yellow one and add a dark stain around the edges. That one appealed to her the most, and she had a suspicion Yang would appreciate it, as well.

"Do you have 'Tobacco Sunburst' in stock at all?" she asked as she looked up.

"Maybe, but I don’t- don’t…"

When her eyes caught those of her customer, she found herself completely freezing solid. She knew that face, those eyes, the white hair… even the voice. It'd snapped just who she was talking to at last. _Weiss Schnee! THE_ Weiss Schnee was there in that very music store!

But she couldn't let her know that. Not yet. First, she had to be sure this was her, and do her job. So instead, she nodded. Voice now a slightly higher pitch, along with an awkward smile, she tried to sound as detached as before – and failed. "Sure! Let me just go fetch one from the back room for you!"

"Uhh… thank you. Oh, and if there's a matching case for it, I'll also take one of those!" But the woman was already retreating, so she simply hoped she had heard her request and turned to browse through a potpourri of guitar picks that were littered about in a basket.

As her assistant wandered into the store room, her mind was completely abuzz. Even though she was set on her task, she couldn't stop thinking about what she had just saw. _'That was Weiss! Holy shit, that was actually her, in the flesh! You've been trying to get into one of her concerts for well over a year and she walks in, and you treat her like crap – way to fucking go, Reese! Why are you like this?'_

When she found the selection of guitars, she grabbed the finish she had asked for. The nicest one in the stockroom; it was the least she could do. And on her way back, she went to look for a case that would match it fairly well.

 _'Okay, calm down… It still might not be her. But if it is her, she'll have a tour bus or something, right?'_ She picked up a yellow ones that had a tribal dragon design over its casing. Something was telling her this would be the one she would want. _'That's it!'_ she thought as she made her way out with both items. _'Get Arslan to ring her up, then you can sneak out and follow her on your break! If it's not really Weiss, you come straight back. If it is, can you imagine the stuff you'd see?!'_

When Reese returned from the stockroom, Weiss had selected two or three picks that struck her fancy and was inspecting a tuba out of boredom. When her eyes alighted on the case, complete with guitar tucked inside, she began to smile.

"Ooh… you know, I think that complements the guitar quite well."

 _'That's her, definitely. You've listened to more than enough interviews to know her voice.' S_ he handed both items over to her seemingly famous client. Now she just had to get away for a while.

"I figured it did, y'know, the whole torched thing, plus a dragon. Now if you head over to my friend at the counter, they should be able to put it all together as a package deal for you; we’re having a promotion for guitars bought with cases. Knock off a few bucks."

"Ah," Weiss said with a polite smile as she took the case. By now, they both knew that the money didn't matter to someone like her, but Weiss didn't know Reese knew. "Well, that is much appreciated. Thank you for the assistance." Then, with a slight nod, she headed off toward the counter to complete her transaction.

"No, thank _you…"_ She spoke quietly to herself as Weiss headed to the counter. Her plan was in action. As Weiss was being served, she made a quick dash to the staff room to sign herself out for break, then grabbed her skateboard and headed out the main doors into the hustle and bustle of the outside crowd. If she blended in, she knew Weiss would never have any chance of noticing her…

Sure enough, by the time Weiss was through talking to the dark-skinned woman with bleached-blonde hair at the counter, signing warranties and declining to become part of their mailing list, she had forgotten about Reese entirely; she was too focused on having made one of the most important purchases of her life.

"Yang is going to _love_ this," she whispered to herself as her burly security guard motioned to the cabbie who had kept the car idling for her as she shopped. The man hopped out and helped her situate the large giftwrapped case in the back seat, where Weiss would still have plenty of room to sit next to it on their way back to her bus, the guard taking the passenger seat.

Thankfully, the traffic was rather slow in the area. Which meant that she couldn't easily keep up with the taxi in the traffic without having to get her own, but she managed – even if she did have to hastily warn some of the bystanders to jump out of the way. Every time there was a red light, Reese had caught up again, even if it had managed to get a few metres down the road.

Within twenty minutes or so, they were back to the parked bus. As the guard assisted Weiss with her things once more and Weiss tipped her cabbie generously, Reese was keeping an eye on them from a distance. It was definitely her, and the bus proved it one hundred percent. Now was the next issue: getting in unnoticed.

The guard held the door open so Weiss could struggle with the overlarge case. It wasn't all that bulky, but then again, Weiss was not an especially big person. Then she was inside and out of sight, the guard remaining outside of the door.

 _'This is gonna be a little tougher than I thought,'_ Reese mused as she hid her skateboard nearby. What were her options? She could hardly pay off a guard, not when she was barely making enough to afford an apartment in the Bronx. Nor could she fight him down. The only other option was…

A window. Weiss had left one of the windows at the rear of the bus wide open, presumably to let in the fresh air while she was out. It wasn't in the eyeline of the guard, and so pacing to it was simple. Keeping out of sight of him, she walked around to it, listening out for any possible sign that Weiss would be out of the way so she could enter, or at least just have a look…

A light humming was coming from the window. Not loud enough to signal that she was in that room itself, but she was definitely in the bus. Then the sound of running water gave away her location. It didn’t stop, which meant a shower, not just washing her hands; perfect. She wouldn't be coming out for a while.

Hauling herself up and straight through the window; she tried to make no noise whatsoever. And landing on the sofa meant she did that with ease. She'd done it! She was inside Weiss's tour bus!

"Oh man, nobody's ever gonna believe this," she whispered quietly, heart pounding in her throat. Where to start? What was she even doing in there?! The main room didn't have much to offer of value; just a few tables and seats, the wrapped guitar in its case, a couple of pairs of boots… though she happened to notice one pair seemed a bit too big for the diva herself.

Curiosity was getting the better of her, and when she looked toward the main bedroom area, she couldn't resist. As quietly as possible, she made her way inside, nudging the door closed behind her to make sure she was hidden that while longer. Yet even there offered very little in actual items that would make for a really cool memento. Was Weiss as pure and dull as everyone believed?

However, one thing did catch her eye in an unexpected place. In anyone else's household, she would have turned her nose up at the sight, but here, there was a story to tell in the laundry basket. One she couldn’t believe. On top lay a pair of black shorts, stained with the telltale remnants of a wild night. That added with the bigger boots she'd seen…

‘ _Weiss isn't the innocent, All-American sweetheart everyone thinks she is,’_ she thought to herself with a quiet chuckle. _‘Shoulda seen that coming…’_

Suddenly, the sound of running water stopped. There were shuffling sounds from inside the bathroom; it wouldn't be long now before the diva emerged, and the bedroom was her next likely destination. Eyes snapping wide open, the intruder realised she didn't have much time left. She needed to take something if she wanted people to believe her! Some kind of trinket that wouldn't be noticed, but enough to prove it.

Spotting the hairbrush on the small dressing table, she quickly nabbed it, forcing it into the large pocket of her hoodie and making her escape to the door. That would have to do. But as she opened it, she realised her escape plan had come too late.

Standing before her was Weiss herself, one towel tucked around her torso, and another wrapping up her hair in a makeshift turban. Those were the only things covering her flawless white skin. For a few seconds, she merely blinked at the girl who was somehow in her bedroom – and blushing from being this close to a nearly-nude celebrity. Then she opened her mouth, and the first words out of it were almost inane.

"Um… can I help you?"

Her intruder didn't even have any words. All she could do was stare back at the underdressed diva in front of her, blinking herself a few times to try and focus. Her mouth did work for a second, as if she could come up with _anything_ to say that would fix this situation.

Until she made a quick dash toward the open window again.

"HEY!" Weiss shouted loudly, pelting after her. "Wait, wh-what are you _doing_ in here?! And where are you _going?!"_

She almost cut off her retreat, but not fast enough. The intruder had already thrown herself out the window, dashing away from the scene. The damage had already been done; a complete stranger had been in her home, raided through her things, and made off to tell the tale.

But what she didn't consider was the bike pulling up just by the bus from the opposite side. Yang had managed to get back early, with the thought in mind of using the shower herself before they headed for dinner at Penny's. But upon dismounting, she could hear a strange amount of shouting…

All Weiss could think to shout while half of her torso was hanging out of her living room window was, "STOP! _THIEF!!!"_ One arm held her towel over her chest while the other was levelled in the green-haired punk's direction as she snatched up her skateboard from where it had been stashed behind a trash can.

There was no hesitation. Instantly Yang was in pursuit by foot, dashing right past the van and heading the same direction as the green haired thief. In the busy streets, it was a difficult chase, especially when numerous people were looking around at them, curious of what was happening.

But having barely made it past one block, the chase was over. Yang had launched herself forward, latching her arms around the green haired thief and tackling her to the ground, sending her skateboard flying backward in the opposite direction. Despite her requests to be let go, Yang held firm, managing to adjust her position to pin the girl's hands behind her back, where she held them firm.

"What's the big deal?! I didn't take anything valuable! I just looked around!"

"You can talk to the rest of the security team about that. Now move it!"

Unconcerned about the growing crowd around them, Yang had hauled the green haired thief to her feet despite protest, keeping her hands restrained as she walked her right back to the bus's location. At least that way, the security could hold her until authorities were phoned, and Weiss could get answers she needed.

By the time Yang returned, Weiss was wearing a simple white dress and green flats that didn't particularly suit each other, but they had been pulled on in a hurry. Her hair was still in the turban. A crowd had gathered outside the bus, one or two people snapping pictures with their phones, and she certainly didn't want to be caught with a towel that could fall off at the worst possible moment.

"Thank you for grabbing her," Weiss sighed in relief. Then she fired back up at once. "You ought to be ashamed of yourself – and I can't _believe_ you followed me here from the store!"

Teeth gritted in mild pain, Reese struggled in Yang's grip. "Hey, what do you expect?! Not every day a popstar comes in. Real question is, someone as big as you, why'd you leave a window open?!"

The comment only made Yang angry for Weiss. Right away, she pulled the girl's arms in tighter behind her back, growling lowly. "Because she's still a person? An open window ain’t an open invitation into somebody else’s home! You ever consider _that_ before you did this?!"

"Exactly!" Weiss agreed heatedly, hands on her hips. "You have broken the law, and I'm afraid you're just going to have to live with the consequences!"

"Come on, _anyone_ would have done what I just did! It doesn't matter if I broke some dumb law or not! Anyone would have jumped at the chance to get a sneak peek into Weiss's life – which as it turns out ain't so innocent after all!"

That response earned a few gasps from their gathering crowd, not to mention, a rather horrified look from her bodyguard. There wasn't anything to give things away inside the bus, was there?

"Wh… I don’t understand, what are you talking about?" Weiss breathed, quietly enough that the others gathered would not overhear. Her blood was running cold, her palms tingling.

"Some of the clothes in there aren't yours, and some of your laundry is… _extremely_ dirty."

Right away, Yang knew. She remembered leaving the shorts she had used to wipe away the remains of that night in Weiss's laundry basket. But what angered her more than this intruder knowing that business was knowing that she had been in her bedroom. It was such a violation. Before she could reflect on that for too long, she forced her toward the nearest security staff to hand, trusting them to hold onto her instead. Any longer and she knew she would have ended up doing something she regretted.

But Weiss wasn't above a low blow. She followed, keeping an eye on Yang's clearly upset features out of the corner of her eye. As the police sirens began to reach her ears, she leaned in and grasped the collar of Reese's hoodie.

"Listen, you. Maybe I do have a personal life outside what I let my fans know about. But it's still _my_ personal life – and you're still the one who broke into my bus AND went rifling through my laundry! How can you stand there and judge me?!"

"Because everyone else is gonna do it anyway. You really think cuffing me’s gonna change that?" Reese shook her head. She looked scared, but also angry at being forced to own up to her own actions. “God, all I wanted was to get a souvenir and a story! You really forgot where you came from. Well, good luck sweeping this one under the rug.”

* * *

 

Those were the last words the scorned fan spoke before the security staff hauled her away toward the oncoming police cars. An ominous warning that this was going to change Weiss’s life. But she didn’t know anything – not _really._ Whether it was the ramblings of a crazed fan or not, Yang didn't care. All she did was glare at the woman as she was forced into the back of a squad car.

But upon noticing how big of a crowd had actually gathered around them, that seemed to be the last straw for her. Raising her hands upward, Yang practically spat, "What's everyone gawking at, huh?! Show's over!"

Once the suspect was in custody, an officer had taken Weiss’s statement, as well as Yang's; finding out she was employed to protect Weiss's interests seemed to be enough to satisfy their curiosity as to why she had chased down Reese on foot. They did turn up the hairbrush in her pocket, but it could not be returned yet; it was evidence now. The fingerprints from her window provided only one clear set; there were others inside, but they were so muddled up with her own and Yang's that it didn't matter. None of the police even gave the laundry a second glance – luckily for them both. It was such a cut-and-dry case of a fan breaking in to steal a single item that there seemed to be no need.

But now they had to deal with the consequences of Reese’s outburst. It may be just a minor inconvenience for everyone else, but for Yang and Weiss, this would have widespread effects. Even if Yang's reputation was completely unharmed by the transpiring events, Weiss's was potentially under threat. All it took was one silly rumour to potentially ruin her reputation, and get her in major trouble with her father. Yang cared more about that than anything else.

Taking a seat in the sofa, she hesitated a moment before she asked, "You okay?"

"No," Weiss sighed, face in her hands. "I feel so stupid – I shouldn't have left the window open, but I wanted to air out my musty bus, and it was only… I thought the guard being with me at all times would have been enough, he _should_ have been enough! Why can't people just… just let me live my life?!"

Rather than say anything else, Yang sighed deeply, wrapping her arms around her and pulling her body in close. The very idea that this whole thing happened was enough to make Yang's blood boil. But she couldn't let that feeling take over. Weiss was her priority. And she was going to do everything in her power to make her feel safe again.

"You're right, it should be enough." Yang repeated, stroking her shoulder softly. "Don't blame yourself, you're allowed to have a window open, it's not like you're a prisoner."

"But I shouldn't have to post a guard at every corner of the… oh, never mind. I just _hate_ this." Sighing, she leaned back against the couch. "And now I don't feel comfortable here, I… god, I just want to be home in Nashville for once."

Looking around the bus a moment, Yang count understand why. The idea someone had been in here without either of their knowledge, even if no harm came to her… the thought of someone rooting through their personal belongings was enough to make Yang's skin crawl.

"Well… we could always book a hotel room or something. I mean, we're here for all your gigs, right? It’s gonna be a while."

"Suppose you're right. And… and maybe that sounds okay, but I don't want to draw undue attention to this by having people camp outside the hotel, trying to figure out why I'm there instead of my bus."

"Ugh… you're right about that. What else can we do?" Leaning forward, she ran a hand over her face as she tried to think. The bus wasn't the best place to be at the present, and hotels would draw attention. It was a shame that they didn't know anyone in the city that had a place of their own-

Then Yang suddenly snapped her fingers instead. They did know someone in New York City. Perhaps not with a place of their own, but it didn't hurt to ask. And with that knowledge in mind, she pulled her cell phone back out of her pocket, quickly typing away.

"Let’s try for a plan B."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for letting two weeks pass, didn't mean to lose track of time. Hope you like the update! Things are gonna start moving a little quicker plotwise now; not NECESSARILY because of what happens in this chapter, but it will affect things. More to come!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER: grinding, first time, condom sex, anal discussion

**=Chapter 14**

When the door to the quaint little home in the semi-upscale region of Queens opened, a man with gently-greyed hair smiled at the two young ladies from behind his round-framed glasses. Glancing down at the bags of luggage arranged by their ankles was enough to make him skip the initial questions.

"Miss Xiao Long, Miss Schnee! Welcome, welcome! Do come in – Penny and her friend are waiting in the living room."

"Thank you again for this, Mr Ozpin. You're really helping us out." It was all she could think to say. Many would have turned them down just due to how short notice they had been given, but here they were, allowed to have a room of their own thanks to Penny's kind parents. Even though Yang suspected the arrangement made things better for the young couple that were also staying.

Picking up both suitcases, Yang followed Weiss inside rather quickly, looking back toward their host. "Oh, and thanks for letting my sister stay here, too. I hope she's not getting into too much trouble!"

"Not at all," the man chuckled easily as he hefted one of the bags – which was oddly shaped, and covered in brown paper. He did raise an eyebrow but made no comment. "She's been a perfect angel. If you don't mind me asking… what on earth might this be?"

"Something for later!" Weiss hastily told him. "I'll, um, show you when the time is right!" That didn't really help her sound any less silly, but it was the best she could do without spoiling the surprise for her girlfriend.

"Probably her outfit for tomorrow's show or something. She likes to show them off if they're really nice." Yang laughed, resting the cases to one side for a moment as they entered the living room.

And straight away they were greeted by both girls on the sofa, the ginger one getting up and pacing toward them both. "Salutations! Again!"

"Yes, hello!" Weiss said with a bemused smile at the girl's odd mannerisms. They were endearing rather than off-putting, and she found herself wanting to coddle her. "You have a really nice house here; I didn't even know they had places like this in the Big Apple."

"They do out this way," her "Dad" replied as he finished arranging the bags by the staircase, to be taken up at their leisure. "On Manhattan itself… not so much. At any rate, our home is open to you so long as you don't throw any wild parties; I know how you celebrity types get!"

"Weiss isn't like that!" Ruby blurted out immediately. "She's so nice, you don't even _KNOW_ – and I promise, personally promise there will be no parties!"

The man's mouth twitched slightly in amusement. "Well. I was only kidding, but it's good to know she has such strong supporters as you, Ruby Rose!"

"She has me to support her, as well! Although this is actually our first time meeting face to face. We spoke in a Skype conversation, but that was it," Penny confessed, but soon looked over to the pile by the stairs. "Do you need help with your bags?"

"Oh, no we'll be fine, Penny. We'll run them upstairs after dinner, I think." Yang smiled gratefully anyway, standing awkwardly as if she was waiting for any kind of command. Sure, the house was convenient, but it certainly made things feel awkward.

Ruby was standing near Weiss, still shifting a little awkwardly herself. Her hands were in the small of her back, and she was smiling, but it looked like she couldn't bring herself to do what she wanted. When Weiss noticed, she rolled her eyes.

"For heaven's sake." Reaching out, she pulled the nerdy girl into a crushing hug. "It's nice to see you again, Ruby."

The first word out of Ruby's mouth was "Nghyuuughhh," which isn't a word at all. But then she seemed to come back to her senses and embraced the diva back. "You too, Weiss! I mean, always!"

"Ruby has been very much looking forward to seeing you again, Weiss! She's practically never stopped talking about it!" Penny giggled as she watched the two hug, unable to help but poke at her rather flustered looking girlfriend in her moment of embarrassment.

But it was only going to get worse when Penny's second father began to make his way down the stairs. Even in their own home, he was dressed in a smart looking shirt and tie, a uniform for an authoritative figure. This must be the stricter one Penny spoke of; 'Father' rather than 'Dad'. Once downstairs, he looked straight over to the four girls, and then to the cases.

"Ah. I take it these ladies are Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long? I'm sorry I couldn't greet you earlier, was on the phone with a client."

Weiss let the blushing Ruby go in order to curtsy, hands just touching the edges of her skirt; she could already sense that he was similar to her own father, in that he had an appreciation for politeness and decorum. And she decided to ignore the way Ruby shivered and sighed in distant satisfaction at having received a hug from her idol.

"A pleasure to meet you, Sir. And thank you for graciously inviting us into your lovely home."

"The pleasure's all mine. It's not very often we have a famous guest for the weekend. Nor this many guests at all, in fact." He lowered his head in respect right back to her, yet was already looking over to his daughter and Ruby again. Seemed he had time to enforce another rule before everything settled. "They will be getting the spare room, of course. However as soon as they're gone, Ruby is back to sleeping in there. Got it?"

"Y-yes, Sir," Ruby said sheepishly, her cheeks pinkening slightly more than they had already been from Weiss's hug. "Of course, I, um, I revere your… hospitality… wishes!"

Trying not to snort with laughter, Weiss turned back and said, "We will all be entirely comfortable with the arrangements, I'm sure."

"Of course. We do also have the sofa down here if one of you needs your own space. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll check on dinner." And finally, once lowering his head in respect of Ruby also, he ventured off to the kitchen.

Leaving a red faced Penny who was looking toward the floor, covering her own face as she groaned in secondhand embarrassment. "Sorry about that. I assure you he is genuine in wishing you welcome, though."

"Ahh, it's okay," Ruby sighed, snagging her arm around Penny's back in support. "Dads – I mean, what are ya gonna do? And you have _two_ of them!"

"Right," Dad chuckled as he raised his coffee mug – startling most of them, for they had forgotten he was there in the presence of his intimidating husband. "And on that note, I think I should help my honey pie in the kitchen. Excuse me."

"Please do not call me that in presence of the children!" The voice could be heard even from the living room, but on the brighter side, it seemed far more light-hearted than it would have been before.

Even then, Penny was just continuing to blush more and more, at last uncovering her face once both fathers had vanished. "He's very strict, like I said. Honestly, I'm surprised he didn't make Ruby sleep on the sofa down here, but I think Dad probably talked him into not doing that."

"That would be atrocious!" Weiss scoffed, arms folded. "You're here to see Penny, aren't you? So what's the sense in her being on a completely different _floor_ from you?! He's deranged!"

But Ruby was acting very shy, scuffing her sneaker against the floor. "Aww, it's fine; as long as we get to hang out together during the day, that's the important thing, right?"

"Yeah, exactly! I'm sure her father's got his reasons…" Yang pitched in, giving a small wink to the girls when she was sure Weiss wasn't looking. It wasn't her place to explain the exact reason as to why, that was for them to do when they wanted.

As if prompted by a conversation he couldn’t hear, Penny's father called out from the kitchen to them, "Dinner's nearly ready! Could you all gather at the table please?"

A slightly redder Ruby glared at Yang very briefly before calling out, "Okay! We're coming!" Then she turned to Weiss nervously. "Um… you don't have to eat with us if you'd rather… I dunno, go have sushi?"

"Sushi?" Weiss asked, genuinely caught off guard by the question. "Why would I do that when you're offering a home-cooked meal?"

"Well, you're a celebrity! I didn't know if you eat normal food like us!"

"Trust me, this is a step up. When you're stuck on fast food and microwave burritos for a few weeks, you really crave a good dinner," Yang pointed out, following Penny through to the dining room with Ruby and Weiss.

They were told Penny's home was strict and well kept, but neither Weiss nor Yang guessed it would be this lovely. The table was set with fine silver cutlery, cloth napkins with wooden rings, china plates and prefilled water glasses, all placed on a neat white table cloth. Perhaps it was just set for the evening or always kept tidy, but at least compared to what Yang was used to – a tray and sitting in front of the TV – it was a step up.

Taking a seat by Weiss's side, and Penny and Ruby sitting opposite, they left both heads of the table free for Penny's fathers, patiently waiting for…

"Hey, what did you say was on the menu tonight again?"

"Beef stroganoff," Ozpin said with a mildly serene expression. "With side salads. Hopefully that is to most of your liking?"

"Sounds delicious," Weiss said politely as she took her napkin and tucked it gently into her lap. "And I'm sure it will be."

"Oh heck yes." Yang had barely managed to stop herself swearing in that sentence. Somehow she knew that would go over like a lead balloon, considering the company. Right away she picked up her fork, rolling a helping of the pasta together and mixing it with the beef pieces.

Once everyone had begun to settle into their meals a little more, “Father” swallowed his helping, turning to the side with the newer guests. "So… is there any news of what will happen to that delinquent that invaded your van? Are you going to press charges?"

For a second, Weiss was choking on a few scraps of lettuce. After she managed to work them down, she replied, "Oh, I… I'm not sure. Maybe the trip to the police station and her photo being all over the news is punishment enough."

"No it isn't!" Ruby burst out, hand curling into a fist around her fork. "That, that… un-nice person thought it was totally cool to just break into your tour bus! Justice will be swift and painful!"

Penny nodded in agreement, swallowing what she had in her own mouth before joining in. "Exactly! She needs to learn that it's unacceptable to enter someone's home without their permission!"

Yang however was certainly noticing that the conversation was making Weiss increasingly uncomfortable, and quickly stopped eating herself to look to the two girls, and over at Ironwood. "If we press charges, it could turn into a huge PR nightmare. Plus it could gum up the works with the tour, which has to come first."

"Exactly," Weiss agreed readily, almost seeming relieved. Which she was, unbeknownst to the others. "I can't stop to get wrapped up in litigation with every silly fan with no boundaries."

That seemed to upset Ruby further. "But… but she invaded your privacy! That's-"

"Now Ruby," Ozpin cut across her as he ground a little black pepper onto his salad. There was an eyeroll from his husband at this, but no further comment. "Obviously this is something your friend seems to feel differently from you about, and her feelings are as valid as yours."

"Yes, sir," she muttered glumly.

"Perhaps," his husband supplied. "But pressing charges would certainly prove to others that you don't take this treatment lightly. You could probably fine her for any of the damages."

But such talk only made Yang roll her own eyes. It was a lawful solution, but hardly practical. "Sue her for what? She's hardly gonna have any money. And besides, there wasn't any damage, and nobody was hurt, no problemo!"

Sighing, Weiss shot Yang a grateful smile before answering Penny’s father. "Sadly, I agree – and I'm already prosecuting an assailant with a knife. I'd rather discourage that than someone taking my hairbrush."

"Well, yes, that's a very good point. I only hope these types of events stop happening for you entirely. Then again, with a bodyguard like Miss Xiao Long, they should keep their distance." Immediately after saying his piece, “Dad” got straight back to his food.

But if only Yang and Weiss could drop a subject so easily. Talking about the numerous attacks that had happened over the tour wasn't exactly a relaxing subject, even if no harm came from either of them. Looking toward Weiss again, she gave a soft smile. "Yeah, well I'll try my best, of course. But enough depressing talk for one night."

Finally catching on, Ruby sat up a little straighter and looked toward Penny’s parents. "H-hey, Father, what do you put in your stroganoff? It's super tasty! Maybe I can learn to make it when I get back to California!"

Although he was about to continue the subject matter, he stopped as soon as Ruby asked a question, clearing his throat as he prepared another forkful of the pasta and the beef. "Oh, just an extra spoon of _crème fraîche_ to help the sauce. Makes it a bit gentler on the palate."

But Yang could still sense the subject matter was rather difficult for Weiss. And no wonder; she had only just managed to get over the last attack with the knife wielding goon, and now this. Yet again when she wasn't there to protect her… but at least she could help soothe her now. That was part of her job, after all, and she felt more urgency to do that job to the best of her ability than ever.

* * *

 

A few hours later, after some polite chit-chat and a lovely New York style cheesecake for dessert, Weiss was sitting in the guest room and waiting for Yang to return, having changed into one of her more modest nightgowns and some fuzzy socks. Modesty was the order of the day with a man like Ironwood there; she was used to his sort from within her own family.

As she brushed her hair out before bed, she glanced over at the guitar case, well-wrapped as it was. She still hadn't found a good moment to give it to Yang. Oh, well; that could keep until the next day.

Fresh from the shower, a now much cleaner Yang opened the door to their bedroom, dressed only in a pair of shorts, a smallish tank top and a towel wrapped around her hair. She'd already said goodnight to Ironwood and Ozpin, and the same to Ruby and Penny, even though they at first protested against her decision to have an early night.

But when it was Weiss who was the concern, she couldn't take a risk. Not when she was still insecure from the whole ordeal. One of the other security staff members was parked in a rented car across the street from Penny’s home, watching for any suspicious activity. It felt like they were in some insane action movie. All they could do was take precautions and try to get on with their lives.

Taking a seat next to Weiss on the bed, she reached up to the towel in her hair, gently blotting at it to dry the last parts as much as she could. In truth, she didn't really know what to say, whether to try and pretend everything was fine or to talk about it again. In the end, she thought the best move would be to let her speak first.

"How was your shower?" Weiss asked blandly as she brushed. Seemed she didn't know what to say either.

"Great. Working a new shower is kinda like figuring out how to fly a rocket at first though. The shower head had a massage option, God knows why…" she rambled, finally tossing the towel to one side with her bag and the rest of their things. She seemed to have paid no mind to the large object wrapped in paper, assuming it was merely something Weiss had bought for herself for a show.

Beginning to shuffle slightly closer to her, she finally asked, "How you holdin’ up?"

"Not great. I'm…" Sighing, she glanced over at Yang. "She didn't hurt me, she didn't even try. But she acts like she doesn't care if she ruins my life. Why are there people like that?"

All Yang could do was shrug her shoulders. "Because people think they're entitled to know _everything_ about someone in the public eye? I don't know. Either way, it's fucked up."

"But Yang, I don't want her dragging your name through the mud. It's bad enough she doesn't care whether or not I am slandered, clearly – but you're my girlfriend, you're the person who means the most to me in… in the whole world! So she can't make your life harder, she just can't!"

Although still upset about what had happened, the words were tugging at Yang's heartstrings. She knew Weiss cared, but this proved how much. She cared for her more than her own reputation. And for her, it meant the world.

"Hey, why would she, anyway? I didn't do anything, just pin her down in the street. It's not like anyone's gonna find out you and I are a thing from some dirty laundry – unless they're a CSI or some shit. And they finished searching the bus."

"True. There's no real connection." Taking a deep breath, she steeled herself to admit something that she felt a bit bad about. "When I was in the bathroom earlier, I…" Her heart seized. This was going to sound stupid, but it was the truth and Yang deserved to know. "I flushed your shorts."

That only raised more questions in Yang's mind. The main one being _how_ , without blocking the system in the bus! But that wasn't important. And the why, when she thought about it, was obvious. To get rid of the evidence in case anyone else asked questions.

Deciding not to question at all, she simply scooted herself closer, wrapping an arm around Weiss to pull her up against her. "No big deal, I got plenty more shorts."

"I panicked!" she burst out. "What if somehow that Reese nutjob made the cops think your shorts were important to her case, and that they needed to track them down again?!" But Yang's calm expression finally soothed the frazzled diva, and she sighed. "Sorry. I'll replace them, I promise."

"Don't worry about it. Like I said, shorts are cheap as fuck. As long as you're okay." That was her main concern.

Bringing her in and pressing a kiss against the top of her head, Yang rested there for a moment trying to compose her thoughts. The whole situation was a mess; not just because of what Reese had done, but the possible media coverage. Reese had said out loud about what she’d found, and to anyone nearby, it could easily be misconstrued. The public now knew what Ruby and Penny did: that Weiss had a secret lover, even if they didn’t know _who._ Sure, it was just a rumour without anything more concrete, but a rumour was more than they had to deal with the day before.

"We're just… I dunno. Gonna have to be more careful, I guess? No risks, nothing too… _adventurous._ Which reminds me, did you, um…" Drawing her phone out of her pocket, she held it up enough for Weiss to notice. "Did you want me to delete them?"

Weiss squirmed as she looked at the phone. Of course she still had those potentially career ruining photos. "Well… I do, and I don't." Her cheeks began to pinken as she remembered what said photos looked like. "It would be _smarter_ to delete them, for sure, but… but they're s-so…"

"It's… whatever you wanna do, really." Occasionally, she had glanced at the pictures – usually when she was bored and had nothing to keep her entertained. She had hoped to keep them as a small token of their time together when she returned home – and something to help her get off when they were apart – but now, making sure her reputation wasn’t tarnished was more the priority.

"You could crop out my eyes," Weiss breathed, cheeks still warm. "Because I think they're really good pictures. Really _hot_ pictures, and I hate to think of them disappearing. But if you crop out the top half of my head it might be harder for people to tell it's me, if…" One of her shoulders rose and fell again. "If the worst happens. Really, that’s why I haven’t asked you to send them to me; my phone is more likely to get hacked."

"Yeah, good idea. Would be safer than leaving them as is." Looking at the phone once more, she held it firm in her hand, cheeks still red as anything. It was a shame to get rid of such an easily identifiable part of her; after all, the eyes made it different from any other picture on the Internet. But at the same time, Yang always had the memory.

Another thought came to her, making her face heat up a little more. "Did you wanna… see them again?"

Giggling and biting her lip, Weiss tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Um… I wanna re-enact them sometime. But… yeah." She scooted closer to look over Yang's bicep at the screen.

Yet again such a comment made Yang blush wildly. Of course, she wanted the same, and had been hoping her girlfriend would, as well; but to hear it in words was something else. She unlocked the phone, bringing up the camera files and opening the same images again. Images taken with one purpose in mind at first; to get Yang in the mood when she was alone.

But they could serve another purpose. Just looking at the pictures, flat as they were on a tiny screen, got Weiss's heart pounding and her thighs rubbing against each other in anticipation. How could she feel this turned on from looking at _herself?!_ She honestly wasn't that vain, she had never thought of herself as "sexy" no matter how many tabloids told her she was. However…

Something about the sight of Yang's fluids covering her was what did it. Made her feel "claimed". That was a feeling that, deep down, she knew she would never in a million years have accepted from a man; it just went against her nature, no matter how many times her father _used_ to half-jokingly say that "A woman's place is in the home" – before she and Winter collectively shut that down. Being as it was her girlfriend, however… it was both humbling and empowering at the same time. They were both in control of whether or not Weiss looked that way, collectively, as a team. There was something special about it, even though it was a something she couldn't describe.

Yang found herself doing the same. Her own thighs were closed tightly as she attempted to keep herself from being too aroused, but it was too much to hide. Even if the content was good enough on its own, the fact Weiss trusted her enough to _keep_ it on her phone was even more of an aphrodisiac. And that at the time, she had insinuated that she would be up for more. Once she had flicked back to the one where Weiss was simply licking the head of her member, she couldn't help but quiver with joy, her own mouth hanging open.

"Fuck. You're really something, you know that?"

"I really am," she murmured – in more of an "And I don't know what" tone. But then she noticed Yang's face and smiled slightly. "Am I a ‘something’ you like?"

"Understatement of the century." She turned to look at Weiss instead, cheeks completely reddened thanks to looking at the picture for so long. Instead of getting back to the task at hand however, she locked her phone, stowing it away in her pocket again, and then letting her hands fall to the diva's hips.

Pouting, Weiss glanced up at her and whined, "I was looking at that," even as her hands encircled Yang's waist, bringing them closer as her lips ghosted over another pair. "Very well. We'll just have to use… the mental image."

Rather than dwelling in the blushing state for too long, Yang decided to own it instead. To growl flirtatiously as she looked down at the smaller woman, whose grip was pulling her in closer. Quickly glancing around the room for a moment, she checked the vital things; door was closed, window was closed.

"Y'know…" She began tracing one of her fingers over her thigh again and again, applying very little pressure… "We could _both_ use those mental images to our advantage…"

Glancing down at the teasing hand, she smiled back up mischievously – and crawled quickly into Yang's lap, arms sliding around either side of her neck as she settled in. Of course, something began to press into her the minute she was in position, but she expected that. Even welcomed it.

"That seems to happen a lot when I do this." Then she kissed her again. "And that."

Purring in delight, Yang kept her hands firmly on Weiss's hips, bringing her right up against her body in her arms. But feeling her slide over her lap like that was… _incredible_. She remembered what it was like the first time it happened, back in the bus, when they were first discovering their feelings. Weiss was grinding against her on impulse, and it was more than enough to awaken her needs to the point when she had to stop Weiss to tell her the truth.

But now she didn't have to stop; neither of them did. And with that thought in mind, she rejoined their lips again, allowing her hips to fall back to where they were until she pulled them up against her again, letting out a small moan when she felt warmth bleeding through fabric and into her length.

Sighing into the kiss herself, Weiss began to shift her hips back and forth, faster than was usual for such a lazy make-out session. There was an urgency, a need for her body to feel that hardness up against her own vulnerable body. A need she hadn't felt this strongly since the first time they discovered they had this kind of rapport.

Perhaps they could do more. They were still yet to be more intimate than fingers and mouths, but maybe there was a way they could test that feeling before committing, so Weiss could see if she'd enjoy it. With that thought in mind, Yang broke their kiss for a moment, grip on her hips loosening as she stared up into her eyes.

"Lie down for me."

To anyone else, she would have snapped at them, questioned their intentions. Yang was different. Eyes wide but hazy, she began to lie back, feeling Yang go with her. Then she was pinned under the taller girl, breath coming faster, mouth somehow dry despite their kisses moments ago.

"Like… this?"

"Yeah, perfect." And it was. Her body laid on top of Weiss's perfectly, hips lined up with hers as she felt her legs part to allow her to lay between them. Like pieces of a puzzle, perfect for each other. Yet again she leant in, reuniting their lips in a passionate embrace.

Yang’s hands left the woman's hips, moving to her legs inside as she rubbed each one lovingly. Alongside this, her hips were beginning to move again, thrust forward against hers. So that was her play all along… They were in a position where all that was separating their bodies from uniting was Weiss's nightgown, and Yang's shorts. But that didn't stop her letting out another moan as she ground her length against her groin, feeling it grow even more.

Which was what Weiss wanted… wasn't it? Her original plan had been to grind up against Yang for a while, then pull her shorts down and let her hands and mouth please her yet again. Her new favourite activity. But their current actions, even through so much fabric, were so satisfying.

What if the fabric was gone? What if it was hardness against softness and nothing else to stop them? That was a fleeting thought that had been dismissed a number of times, but the more often it came up in the pop star's mind, the harder it became to ignore.

Little did she know, Yang was thinking the same. With each and every thrust of herself against Weiss's groin, she let her thoughts run wild, let more moans sound out against her lips. They'd been partnered together for two months, and an item for one. Previously, she had probably gone all the way, and beyond, by this point. Scarlet in particular took little over a week before they were doing such activities… but was Weiss ready for that? She'd only just become brave enough to let Yang see her down there, touch it… Was she ready to let their bodies join in such a way? Neither of them could deny, feeling the thrusting against one another felt right… more than right.

But she kept her movements to a steady pace. Once more, she wanted her diva to take the lead. It was her decision if she was ready or not, and Yang would stick to that rule.

So when Weiss pulled back from their kiss a few minutes later and whispered, "Can we… get out of these clothes?" it was not much of a shock to either of them. Even though she had not yet asked to go further, she was moving things in that direction, certainly.

Yang double checked the door once again. Still shut. After which she grinned back down at Weiss, climbing off her again with haste to give her space to undress.

"Sure. Let me just take care of something." Hopping off the bed, she went to quickly grab her larger case, taking it and pushing it up against the door before they began anything. The last thing either of them would want was for someone to walk in on them in the middle of being naked! Once testing the door to make sure it was safe, she looked back toward her diva with half-closed eyes. "Ready to go a little crazy?"

Apparently, she was – as Weiss demonstrated by already being out of her pyjamas when Yang turned back. All she was wearing now were white lace panties and an expression full of longing. Biting her lip, she raised one arm, crooked a finger, and beckoned Yang to come back to her. Yang muttered something incomprehensible under her breath. The once-confident expression was replaced with wide eyes, and a blush as red as a tomato as she glanced down at the less-than-functional underwear. Was this what she went shopping for? The sight was certainly doing more to keep her 'in the mood' than she expected it would…

Reaching to her top, she pulled it up and over her head, tossing it to one corner of the room. She didn't wear a bra of her own this time, so she stood exposed before Weiss. Until she crawled back on top of her again.

"Ah, ah, ah," Weiss said in a teasing tone, hooking the still-bent finger around Yang's waistband and pulling it open an inch or so. "These too, Xiao Long."

"How come I have to be completely naked first? Double standard." Still, she did as she was told before she received an answer, pulling her shorts downward slowly. Thanks to their earlier activities, her length was near enough at its full potential by the time it pushed itself out of the fabric, bobbing slightly in the air once it was free. Pulling the shorts off the rest of the way, she threw them to one side with her top, then looked back at her diva. "Better?"

"Perfect." Her hand drifted up and simply laid open, reaching for Yang's to pull her closer. Seemed she was dedicated to remaining in her reclined position so much that she didn't even want to lean forward to pull her lover back to bed.

It was time for her to treat her princess like royalty. Climbing back on top of her again, Yang returned to their previous positions, pressing down onto the lace panties. There was far less fabric between them now. Unable to help herself, she began to grind against them, feeling the lace scrape past her hardened flesh. And once more, it made her moan out in pleasure.

A sigh of pure anticipation floated out of Weiss as she felt so much more warmth against her than before. The panties didn't shield her from Yang as much, and she could better envision what things were going to be like when they had even less between them – considering they were already practically at the level of naked. Her hands traced up and down Yang's back, delighting in the feeling of soft skin, feeling her heart beat faster for another reason.

"You're all I've ever wanted," she breathed into the quiet room, eyes fluttering open to gaze up into her eyes. "Even before I knew it was you… it was you."

The words yet again were more than Yang could ever ask for. She didn't even know how to respond, other than reaching to grasp one of Weiss's hands instead, sliding her fingers between hers as she held her hand. She stopped her thrusting for a moment, so she could look down into the orbs of blue.

"Then I gotta be the luckiest woman in the world…"

Weiss leaned up to kiss her gently, her need taking a backseat to her affection for the moment. The free hand drifted up and wound into Yang's golden hair, pulling her down for a deeper, more intimate kiss yet.

However… her hips were also beginning to rise up to meet their matched set. Yang equally pushed hers forward to meet them, thrusting back and forth against her shielded sex again and again. This was fantastic… passionately kissing such a perfect woman while their bodies began to give themselves over to their needs. If only that layer of fabric was out the way, so she could push herself inside her, and take her at last…

Maybe they were ready. Weiss had confessed that Yang was the one for her. Even if they never said the famous three words, that was close enough. After a few more minutes of kissing and grinding, she finally pulled away, resting their foreheads against one another for a moment. Catching her breath and building up her nerve.

"Weiss? Did you want to go further tonight?"

"Do you?" Her hand drifted up to rest against Yang's neck. "To be honest… I've been thinking about that a lot lately. Like, _a lot!_ But…" She took a breath; they were past the point of beating around the bush. "I didn't know if you'd want me to… put you in that role. I want you inside me, but I don't want to treat you like…"

Weiss shrugged, unable to finish that sentence. This was extremely important to iron out before they went any further, but the last thing she wanted was to make Yang feel like she saw her as anything other than the woman she loved and respected. Compared to a month ago, Weiss had learnt so much about Yang. Where before she would have said something offensive by accident, now she was thinking about her all throughout, considering her feelings before asking – and even in her word choices. Such a gesture earned her another quick kiss on the lips.

"I want to." She smiled softly to her. "I-it's been years since I’ve been the one… 'on top.'" Saying it out loud was enough to make her cringe slightly. But nonetheless, she continued. "So I mean, fair warning that I might be a little rusty… but I want to, with you."

That alone was enough to prompt a groan of need from the diva, but it was a quiet one. Her other hand trailed down Yang's body back to her hip – near the source of her previous hesitance, which would now be the bridge between their bodies. Again, they kissed, and then she pulled back to lock their eyes together as she sealed their fate.

"Then… there's nothing else to say but 'take me,' is there?"

Those two words were all she needed. Her hands brushed down Weiss's body instead, beginning to brush against the waistlines of her underwear. She had begun to lower them, but once she got them a couple of inches down, she stopped.

"Wait, I need something first." Even though their entangled bodies felt so good, Yang had to part them again. That was the downside of her equipment and being with a woman: she needed protection. Quickly wandering over to the corner with their luggage again, she began to rummage around, finding her small handbag. Thankfully, she had been prepared for any such situation since the start of the tour, carrying a few condoms of her own for if she got lucky on her nights off. But back then, she had no idea she would be the one using them. How wrong she was.

“O-oh,” Weiss whispered in realization as she readjusted her position on the bed slightly, fluffing up her pillow, straightening her hair. “Right; I guess I wasn’t thinking about that, since you’re a woman… that’s… yes, good idea.” Her hands fell to her waist to shuck the lace… but she decided she wanted Yang to do it. This would be their first time uniting their bodies fully, and she wanted the experience to be complete.

“I actually really appreciate that,” Yang chuckled bashfully as she returned to the bed. Making quick work of the wrapper and sliding it over her member, she gazed down upon her lover, who was now fully prepared for her. Well, all except one thing. One thing that Yang was about to make short work of.

Crawling back into the bed, perched above the diva, her hands fell to the lace panties and started to pull them downward. This time, there was no nervous shriek or fleeing from the room; only Weiss holding her breath as her body was laid completely bare before her girlfriend. As her ankles passed through the leg holes and the panties were completely removed, she turned her hips to one side, preserving her modesty very slightly for just a few more moments.

"Can… I touch it? I've never felt one with protection before." Then she laughed at herself. "Then again, you probably could have figured that out."

"Yeah, why not?" she couldn't help but chuckle while nodding. She backed herself away slightly, giving Weiss the space for her to touch what she wanted. The pale hand wrapped itself around the thick length, causing the latex to crinkle very quietly. Then an odd little surprised smile broke out across Weiss's lips.

"It's wet already!"

Yang couldn't help but laugh again at her as she watched her explore. It just reminded her of how naive she was outside of the music industry knowledge. "Well duh, they're pre-lubed to make it easier."

"Right… yeah, that makes sense." Her hand pumped up and down a few times – not especially hard, but just tight enough to make it felt. "Ooh… it's so slick… do you use these when you're by yourself?"

Well, they were past the stage of being embarrassed now, even if masturbation habits were going to be discussed. Shaking her head, and trying to suppress another moan, she answered, "N-Nooo, they take away some of the feeling. I stick to hand and… fingers."

"Oh…" Pausing in her actions, Weiss looked up with an uncertain smile. "Did… I mean, do you want to take it off? I'm n-not on birth control, though…"

Straight away she shook her head once more, letting her hand fall onto Weiss's to stop her from pumping. The last thing she wanted was to finish early. "Weiss, I'm not about to risk that. Still feels nice the way it is."

"But I want this to feel good for you, too!" she insisted, her other hand drawing Yang's face down so she could kiss her cheek.But Yang only shook her head once more. This wasn't something she was going to be talked out of; the risk was far too great. It was bad enough if people found out the innocent pop star was sleeping with a trans woman, but if down the line they found she was _pregnant with her child…_

No, she couldn't think about that, and instead let one of her hands sink into her smooth hair. "It's going to feel _great_ for me, trust me. We're keeping this safe, okay?"

Nodding and sufficiently reassured, Weiss leaned into Yang's gentle touch. "You know best. And… and I know it's going to feel beautiful for me. How could it not?"

Then her legs were manoeuvring Yang into position above her, a little at a time. She didn't want to draw anything out any longer than they already had; some things needed to be seen to urgently, and she aimed to make that happen. Her bodyguard’s free hand brushed down the diva's body, until it grasped the latex covered phallus, holding it steady as she shifted her hips to prepare their position. It took her a moment to feel around, until she felt the head line up perfectly with the entrance.

And making sure she stared into Weiss's eyes throughout, she began to push forward, feeling the head of her member slide inside, the rest beginning to follow. Weiss gasped out in pleasure and surprise at how it felt. Some areas were cold where the latex had wrinkled, but the rest was so hot she felt like she might be burned. This was really it! Yang was inside of her!

Then she realised something else. Yang had taken her virginity. Even though she had in spirit long before that moment, but now it was an undeniable fact. Even while still wincing from the mild pain of being widened more than she ever had before in her life, she was grinning from ear to ear.

Noticing such a grin, Yang herself was beginning to grin also. That was that part out of the way, they were ready to continue, with only pleasure to await them. Once sure her lover would be okay, she continued to push her hips forward, feeling more of her covered length sink into the body below, quickening her pace very slightly until she felt her hips hit Weiss's. They were fully joined.

The moans from Weiss started out slightly-pained, with a wince here and there, but were slowly being overshadowed by the intense pleasure filling her. Filling her completely. Her hands slid to two varying positions on Yang's back to hold her there as her legs widened slightly. She couldn't believe this was really happening for them. Yet she could.

Once sure Weiss was content with the situation, she started to pull herself back out again. Even with the latex covering, she could feel the inner walls of her lover tight around her, making her moan out in her own pleasure as it tugged on her member, as if she was trying to grasp her and keep her inside. Once she was nearly back out, she shivered while pushing herself straight back in again. At last, they were really becoming one in every way they could.

"AH!" Weiss gasped when the thrusting began, slow as it was. "Oh Yang, it's… oh wow, I can't believe I'm feeling this!" Her head fell back, mouth agape in complete ecstasy. That momentary discomfort had been beyond worth it if this was the result!

She nodded in agreement, not able to do much more apart from that and moan on occasion. How had she not done this in so long? How on earth did she forget how it felt even? For so long, she was used to being the one in Weiss's position, having to open herself up for someone else – which was fun in its own right, of course. But this was the way her body was designed to receive pleasure, after all. If someone had told her this time a few months ago she would be doing it again _with a famous singer_ , she would have laughed in their face.

But doing this with her felt so… different. It was a feeling she knew she hadn't felt for so long; _right_. She and Weiss were made for each other, no matter what anyone would have said about it. And such thinking in mind only made her begin to increase her thrusting speed.

The diva's back arched away from the mattress as she felt her lover sliding in and out of her body, teasing every inch of her inner walls. Her hands fell to the sheets, gripping hard, teeth digging into her lip to keep from crying out again – the last thing they needed was the rest of Penny's family to come bursting into their room and interrupt this sacred moment!

There was a better way to quell both of their moans. Not hesitating, she leant forward, mashing their lips against one another, kissing her passionately. Right away, Yang let her tongue trail over Weiss's, seeking it out as she let moan after moan into her mouth. Once more, she quickened her pace, bending her knees to a better position to put more power into each thrust.

The longer their bodies collided, the hotter she began to feel, the more sweat she could feel on her skin. Even with Weiss's talented hands and mouth, or all the lovers in her past, it had never felt this good before. And it was only going to get better.

Weiss discovered an unexpected benefit once Yang was leaning down more, once the pace increased. Yang's ample bosom was pressing down hard against hers, making both sets shift and shake with every thrust. This wasn't something she expected to like, to care about – to even notice with that thick shaft deep inside of her. But the gentle rocking of her tits with another set of nipples brushing her own was nice, teasing… added something to the experience.

There was one other apparent problem Yang hadn't considered when she tried to increase how hard she thrust into Weiss's body. On one particularly hard shift forward, she heard the bed creak. Not bad enough to wake the house, perhaps, but enough to make her open one of her eyes and notice. Harder times would have to wait for another day, it seemed.

With that in mind, she tried to intensify things in other ways. One such way was by letting one of her hands roam into Weiss's hair, grasping a handful tightly. From experience, she knew it wasn't enough to cause a lot of pain, but a dull pain that could add to the intensity a little more.

Sure enough, there was a little gasp of surprise into Yang's mouth when the roots were tugged upon. What was Yang doing?! But the longer they writhed together with that hand where it was, the less she cared, and the more she wanted to lose herself in the sensations, so different from each other as they were.

And not long after, she felt her climax begin to build. It wasn't as sudden as the time Yang had used her fingers inside of her, but it was still a lot faster than all those times they had done through-the-clothes activities. Both of her trim calves raised up and draped over the blonde's backside, hanging on for dear life as she was brought closer and closer to the edge.

All the while, Yang's own climax was beginning to build as well. This time, there was no need to warn Weiss of it's arrival; all she had to do was lose herself just as her lover was doing, continuing to kiss her hard as she felt the muscles in her stomach beginning to knot and tighten. A quiver of her legs against Weiss's behind made it obvious it was going to be soon, too soon. But maybe she would make her lover finish first.

"Yang," she breathed between kisses, the word distorted and slurred by lips and passion and saliva. So close! And Yang was, as well – even though it had only been a half-dozen times, she was slowly beginning to recognize the tells in her bodyguard's face. Her fingernails dug in and began to run along Yang's back, leaving red lines along the skin in her desperation to hang on.

Alas, her own goal to try and push Weiss over the limit before herself was done for. The harsh feeling of nails digging into her back, leaving their own special marks in her skin was enough to push her over the edge. And with no other option to quell her screams, she leant into Weiss's neck, calling out against the flesh as she met her end. Yet again, her thighs quivered, yet again her length began to throb, only this time, it was _inside_ her body, and behind a barrier of latex as it let loose its seed. Oh how much of a relief it was just to continue without worrying about warning her!

Seconds later came the cries from Weiss – which were muffled in much the same way, higher-pitched than usual in a vain attempt to keep them quieter. It wasn't the quickest, it wasn't the strongest, but it was definitely the most satisfying orgasm of her entire life thus far. All of them were because of the same woman, and she wanted to collect them in her mind to treasure forever.

Then finally, all of her limbs went slack and she fell back against the bed, gasping for breath as if she had been underwater for minutes on end. Her eyes were out of focus and her mouth hung open, but the very corners of her lips were turned up. That had been well worth everything.

Panting with joy herself, Yang finally opened her eyes, only to see her equally exhausted lover beneath her. They'd both finished at nearly the same time; not too shabby, all things considered. Grinning, she finally allowed her own body to go limp on top of Weiss's, apart from drawing her length out of her body before it became uncomfortable.

A random spasm occurred when she was exited, but otherwise Weiss was glad to feel the length taken out of herself; it had felt so wonderful a moment ago, but now her body needed to recover from their activities.

"That was…" the bodyguard began to pant, rolling to one side of her and curling against her instead. "Incredible…"

"Mmhhh," Weiss panted herself as she rolled to curl around Yang. "You… you made me a woman just now, Yang…"

Even though she had to still slide the condom off her length, the main 'masculine' part of her, she couldn't help but begin to chuckle contently as she placed it into the bedside trashcan, before curling up just as much against her lover. "Probably sounds crazy, but you made me feel the same way. Even though I took a more… _dominant_ role."

"That's good!" Weiss breathed with a genuine smile, sliding her hand down along Yang's flared hip and supple thigh. "Because you are my _woman,_ dick and all." Her fingertips ghosted over the moistened head, finding there was still a decent amount of juices clinging to it. Then they raised to her own lips and she sucked at them for a few seconds, eyes closed in bliss.

"Wow, you really can't get enough of that stuff, can you?" Yang asked, despite the growing blush on her face still. Weiss really knew how to press her buttons, even after their activities were over. Rolling to her side, she allowed her fingers to trace between Weiss's legs, touching up against the soft flesh of which she had plenty. And making an equally splendid discovery. "Hmm, wet… Looks like I'm gonna sample some of you, as well."

After a shiver from the contact, her eyes fluttered open again to see Yang's hand gravitating toward her mouth. And she blinked, several times, almost in complete disbelief. "You… are you really going to…?"

For a moment, she simply parted and joined her fingers repeatedly, displaying the clearer fluid of Weiss's own sex was clearly present on it. Making Weiss hold her breath, worried about her reaction. Then she brought the fingers straight into her mouth, sucking on them just as Weiss had. Weiss's flavour wasn't unsatisfying. In a way, it was like her own: salty, yet slightly tangy. One that was her all over. Once finished, she straight away licked her lips.

The younger woman was still flushed from their activities, so it was impossible to tell if she was blushing because of what Yang had done or not. However, what she said was, "Do you… want to try more? I mean, I honestly don't see the appeal… but then again, I didn't see the appeal of yours until I tried it," she added in a quieter, chagrined tone.

Smacking her lips together, she politely shook her head, wiping the remnants of saliva away into the blankets below as she looked over at her. "Think I've had my fill for one evening… and I’m about ready to pass out."

"So am I," Weiss chuckled as she nestled in against her girlfriend, finally drawing the thin top sheet up and over their bodies now that the heat of climax had started to evaporate. "My throat is really dry but I can't even move… I just wanna sleep."

"Maybe you need to go down on me, after all," she joked while slipping into her role of big spoon, curling her body around the small diva's and letting one arm trail across her stomach, where she dozily allowed it to stroke back and forth. Although, she wasn't over teasing yet. "Y’know, if the bed wasn't so squeaky, I'd show you what an extreme session is like…"

"Yeah, I know. Annoying bed, making all that n-" Then she seemed to catch up to part of that. "Wait. What do you mean, 'extreme session'? What did we do just now if it _wasn’t_ an extreme one?!"

Now pressing her crotch right up against Weiss's backside again, she smirked to herself as snuggled close. "You really think that's all I got? I gotta keep upping my game for a world famous star, right?"

"Oh, stop that!" And again, Weiss's cheeks flamed when she felt the still-coated bulge pressing into that area of herself. Every time, it made her stomach flutter. Why was that? Maybe she should ask instead of just wondering. "Yang," she asked in a soft voice, still not quite sure what she was about to ask even as the words were escaping, "do you… like… my rear end?"

Simply grinding her lower half against it even more, she sleepily nodded, letting out a content little hum against her hair. Seemed her own tiredness was finally beginning to catch up with her. "It's petite and cute and all mine, so of course I do."

"Good, I suppose. I like yours, too." As Yang's breathing began to grow heavier and heavier, she finally asked, "But what I'm asking is… do you find it… pleasurable? To press against. Maybe enough that you could… finish that way? Because this isn’t the first time you started doing that."

Half opening one of her eyes, Yang was unsure she heard correctly in her sleepy state. They'd only just performed regular penetration, did Weiss want to do _that_ at some point?

"Well… I mean," she began, eyes closing again and she dozily shrugged her shoulders. Perhaps she wasn't thinking at this point when she let the following information slip… "Never tried fucking an ass myself, but a few guys have finished in mine, so it seems like it would be fun… I mean, I enjoyed it enough _getting_ it, and they sure as hell seemed to like banging mine."

"Oh, well that's… not what… I… um…" Her voice trailed off. Yang wasn't talking about what she was talking about, which had been simply using it as a soft cushion against which to thrust – much as she had with her soft centre before they fully undressed earlier. But Yang meant _anal sex_. The whole thing – actually going _inside._ The instant she figured that out, both of her cheeks clenched together as hard as they could. No, she most certainly would _not_ be allowing that to happen. It was depraved! That wasn't where anything should enter – only exit!

On the other hand… as Yang had said, she'd been with many boys. And those boys had to go somewhere.

Against her will, a vision of Yang splayed out on a bed filled her mind, arms and legs spread eagle as someone climbed on top of her… as a disembodied cock guided itself down over Yang's, began to probe further down…

With a clamping shut of her eyelids, Weiss cut off the tawdry little film in her mind. That was not right for her to think about! Yang was a woman – it wasn't her fault she had been born with male equipment, and that she had, for all intents and purposes, been left with little option but to have "gay sex" with her last few boyfriends. No, it was improper for her to think about her past lovers, anyway – much less in that light.

Improper for her to be turned on at the thought of a thick length sliding deep into Yang from behind. Improper for her to wish she was the one putting it there.

"Yang?" she finally asked in a shaky whisper a minute or two later.

Seems while Weiss's thoughts were running away with her, Yang's were drifting toward sleep. But still barely awake, she managed to mumble, "Yeah?"

"Do you, um… genuinely enjoy taking it back there?"

Lucky for Weiss, in her doziest moments, Yang was her most honest. It was a genuine smile that was on her face as she could be felt nodding against the back of her head, instinctively pulling her in all the more. Even if she lacked the energy to reimagine it herself, she could still talk about it.

"It's an odd… fullness. Butthole’s pretty sensitive. And there's a pleasure point deep in there, for me, at least. Gotta be in the mood for it, but when I am, it feels… damn good."

"Oh. Interesting." Even though that was all she said, even though Yang was already almost gone from the waking world, Weiss remained awake for another few minutes. Just long enough for her to begin scheming. If Yang liked to have that disgusting area stimulated, then Weiss wasn't going to let her reservations about it stand in their way.

"Yang Xiao Long," she whispered into the room long after Yang had begun snoring, "Your butt will not go unloved – I swear it!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So HERE IT IS! I mean, I know a lot of you were waiting for it - and I feel a little bad I couldn't get out some fake-out April Fools chapter, but I think everybody would have been mad anyway XD Hope you enjoyed their first time with the P-in-V!
> 
> Next: a whole lot more!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER: tit-teasing/nipple play, cunnilingus, 69, anal-poking.

**=Chapter 15**

The morning dawned chilly but beautiful on Ruby Rose as she stretched out in bed. It was, in fact, the small air bed next to Penny's, which she had kept herself to out of respect for Penny's fathers. Sure, they cuddled for a little while before she crawled down into it, but at least she actually slept where she was supposed to, right?

Then she realized her feet were cold because they were sticking out from under the blanket. Frowning down at them, she shrugged and sat up, scratching her ribs. When she glanced over to see if Penny was already up she found she was, bed entirely abandoned.

"Oh. Well… okay, then!" Yawning, she used the bedframe to push herself up, searched the nightstand for her glasses and headed for the door.

Which assaulted her with the scent of fresh eggs and bacon the moment it was open. Breakfast! She had been thinking about a shower, but that dismissed all thoughts of one from her mind. Clomping down the stairs, she called out, "PENNY!"

As expected, Penny was the one starting breakfast. It had become a ritual on Saturday mornings, to get up slightly earlier, cook fried breakfast for both her fathers – one she missed when she was on the other side of the country. But this time she had additional guests to cater for.

"Good morning, Ruby!" Penny greeted her. She knew what she liked at least, pancakes with strawberry jam. Although she still didn't know what the other guests would want. "I'm making your pancakes after the scrambled eggs are done, but could you ask Yang and Weiss what they'd like? I guessed Yang wants bacon, but I'm not sure about Weiss… does she have any dietary restrictions?"

"Yeah, Yang’s all about eggs and bacon! Weiss seems like a _crêpe suzette_ kind of girl, but I honestly wouldn't know – I don’t remember anything breakfasty from her interviews." Then her silver eyes shot wide. "OH! She likes coffee! I know that for sure!"

"She can't really eat coffee though, Ruby." She began to chuckle to herself, flipping the pieces of bacon over in the pan to keep them cooking evenly, followed by the omelette and eggs.

"I'll go ask," Ruby said pleasantly, turning to bounce back upstairs.

"Yaaaang," she called softly as she eased the door to the guest room open – only to feel her progress impeded. "Oh. What the… ugh. YANG! Stop leaving your dirty clothes behind the door!"

Shoving the door harder, she slowly began to get it open a little at a time. Bit by bit, the door budged open with each of her shoves. Until eventually, after enough budging, it was open enough for her to see inside.

And there was an unexpected sight. Curled around her idol, huddling her closely against her body, was her sister. Both seemed to be naked, judging by the bare shoulders that were poking out of the top of the covers from either side, with Yang's arm loosely hanging over the diva's stomach, Weiss's hand cupped around hers. Somehow they managed to remain the entire night in such a position without getting too warm.

But from the noise of the suitcase being shifted by the door, Yang had started to stir, eyes tightening a moment before they began to flutter open. She hadn't recognised her sister's presence yet.

All Ruby could think to say was, "Oh my God." And even that was muttered under her breath. She couldn't move, couldn't think – this wasn't real. It couldn't be! Firstly, she couldn't believe she was walking in on her sister cuddling somebody while naked – and the knowledge of what that implied they were doing the night before made her ears turn a bit pinker than usual. And then on top of that…

Weiss. THE Weiss, _naked_. Weiss naked _in the same room with her._ That definitely made the redness spread from her ears to the rest of her face.

For a moment longer, Yang just squeezed Weiss a little closer to her, pressing a soft kiss against her neck. She wasn't even aware that they now had an audience, especially not her sister. That was until she began to look toward the door, then spotted it was slightly open. And then saw a pair of wide silver eyes staring right at her.

"Uuuhh… I, uh… I can explain?!"

"You… that's…" Her finger came up to point at Weiss, but she couldn't seem to articulate any further. Finally she just squeaked out, "Wrong room!" and slammed the door shut behind her.

Weiss. Yang and Weiss. Together. Weiss naked - _'No, don't think about that,'_ she told herself firmly. _'You already said you weren't going to anymore, and now that Yang is with her…'_ Then she had a whole new set of really unwelcome images in her head. Yang banging people was already gross, but did it have to be Weiss?!

"N-no wait! Ruby!" Having to shuffle back away from Weiss, she quickly managed to slide out the other side of the bed, quickly fetching her clothes up from the corner of the room and throwing them on as fast as she could. This couldn't be happening! Ruby couldn't find out she and Weiss were together like this!

As she slid her shorts back on, she looked over to Weiss again. Still dead to the world. She'd have to be warned later when she was more aware of what was going on. Once dressed she dashed out the room in an attempt to chase her sister. By that time, Weiss had finally been roused enough to manage a mumbled "Huh?" before Yang was gone.

Ruby was only sitting at the top of the stares, a sort of dazed expression in place. Her arms were folded over her chest as she rocked back and forth. It took Yang walking straight past the stairs and down the hallway before she backtracked, staring down at her seemingly stunned younger sister. Where should she start? Not only had she just found out her sister was still dating women, and that she was dating someone Ruby had fantasised about for a few years at least… she'd also found out many facts about Weiss that she didn't want exposed yet. Like that she was queer, her secret lover was a trans woman, and she'd even seen her somewhat naked!

First things first, she cleared her throat, trying to get her attention. "R-Ruby?"

"AH!" Ruby yelped, turning to stare up at her fearfully – and then sighing in relief that Yang was at least dressed in her usual shorts-and-tank combo. "G-good morning! I'm… yes, hello! Hi!"

"Hey… um, listen…" Taking a seat next to her sister, she stared outward into nothing just as she was doing, cheeks as red as anything once again. She couldn't even look at her. "I'm… really sorry you had to walk in on that."

"On what?!" Ruby squawked with a nervous giggle. "I saw nothing! I mean, you two were there, but nothing was happening! N-not that I would _want_ to have seen anything, of course – definitely not both of you doing anything! That would just be really weird! Weird with a beard!"

"Ruby, you're rambling." She managed to stop her before she went on for too long, finally looking around to her again. There was no comment specifically against the two of them being together, which was a good sign. "And uh, I’m sorry I didn't tell you at our lunch. You never know who's listening, y’know?"

Then her eyes widened even more – as if that were possible – and she finally looked up at Yang. "Wait, you mean… you mean this has been going on before now? That it wasn't just… I don't know, celebrity people have hook-ups sometimes, right?" Then her voice bumped up another octave. "Not that I'm saying you're just a hook-up! Not at all! Oh…"

Letting her sister fall silent for a small moment, Yang finally placed a hand on her shoulder, bringing her in toward her. Despite the fact she was her older sister, and such a gesture was a particularly brotherly thing to do, it was a habit she never really managed to shift.

"It's been a thing for a month," Yang started to confess, eyes turning away in slight embarrassment. "Remember when I told you about Weiss finding out about me? That's… when it began."

"It was?" Ruby swallowed, beginning to choose her words more carefully. "You didn't… I mean, it's not because of your condition, is it? I don’t think Weiss would be like that, but I have to make sure…" Clearly, the next part was much harder for her. "Because she might be one of my idols, but if she's misgendering my sister, I’m gonna-"

"No, it's nothing like that!" Although hearing how much Ruby cared about her really touched her, made her bring her in for a tender squeeze. "She screwed up a few times at first, yeah. But first we kissed before she even knew about that, so the feelings were there, anyway. Then once she learnt and I explained what she didn't know, she’s… well, not _perfect_ , but she really wants to learn and she’s doing great so far."

Nodding, Ruby relaxed against her for a moment. "Okay, good. I mean, she's the coolest person ever, and you're the coolest sister ever, and if she wasn't treating you as cool as you deserve, then that wouldn't be… cool, you know?"

"Nope, it really wouldn't be cool." Yang nodded in agreement. "She is an awesome person, you can trust that. She's just… Remember how I said her dad was real strict?"

"Oh, yeah you kinda mentioned that."

"Well…" She quickly leant back away from Ruby, looking down the hallway back toward their room for a moment. The door was still shut, Weiss hadn't left. Perfect. Keeping her voice low as she looked back to Ruby again, she went on, "He's super Christian, raised her with all the rules and everything. And I mean, everything. Seriously, it’s pretty incredible she didn’t try to burn me at the stake or whatever. She’s really messed up."

"Well, I knew that – I mean, about her being a Christian. Her early work was all super religious." Then she tilted her head slightly, her blush finally beginning to fade now that they were on to a more serious topic. "What do you mean, messed up? Like how?"

Yet again another look to the door. This was clearly something she shouldn't be telling her without Weiss's consent. But Ruby needed to know, in order to understand fully. "She's so down on herself, Ruby. Took her weeks to get over falling for a girl, she's hated her own body for years… and she’s so worried about him finding out about all this, and honestly, I am too."

A pained look crossed the younger sister's features. "Oh… so he's _that_ kind of person. Great." Then her eyebrows shot up. "But how can she hate her body?! It's gorgeous – she's perfect!"

"It’s, uh… personal stuff I can’t tell you about. Really, I shouldn't be saying any of this so please _please_ don't tell her…"

"No way – my lips are sealed!" she squeaked, making a "zipping" motion across them. "I'm sorry, you can tell me to shut up, I won't ask any more questions!"

"Hey, you're fine okay? I trust you. I just… wanted to let you know this isn't open knowledge. And I know you want stuff for your blog but that's outta bounds, alright?"

Ruby's face paled. Partly because she was worried about this getting out, what it would mean for her sister… but also because she realized that this was exactly the kind of thing she would blog about if it wouldn't affect someone she knew personally.

"O-okay, I got it, Sis. I won't tell a soul that you're… _together,_ together."

"Thanks. You're the best sister ever, you know that?" She tugged Ruby in for a tight hug of their own, even ruffling her hair with one of her hands. But straight after she smirked. "So, how does it feel knowing your idol's as queer as you are?"

"We… might need to stop talking about this," she laughed nervously, rubbing her face. After a second, though, she burst out, "You know I have a crush on her! Had! _Had_ one, but I'm not really past it completely – and even though it's a celebrity crush, which means I didn't expect anything to happen, it was… I've thought _things_ about her! Things nobody should ever think about their sister's girlfriend!"

Hunching her shoulders slightly, she laughed nervously. She'd known Ruby had a crush on her for a while, and in a way, that made the situation even worse. "Yeah… About that, sorry… I hope you don't feel like I swooped in and zoomed your ‘waifu’."

"Not really," Ruby sighed, even though her voice sounded quite defeated. "You just… you like her, she likes you. My crush doesn't matter in the face of that – and it shouldn't, of course!" Then she cleared her throat. "Weeelllllll, this is definitely the fastest way for me to get past the crush, because thinking about my sister with her… that kinda throws cold water over the whole fantasy!"

Cheeks brightening yet again, she couldn't help but let out a slightly cheeky giggle, looking up at the ceiling innocently. "I suppose so, glad I could help with that." But after a moment, she nudged her sister with her elbow. "What about Penny though, huh? She's a real cutie."

Giggling quietly, in a way that was both self-conscious and excited, Ruby added, "She is. I'm really happy we're in each other's lives. Sometimes… nah, you don't wanna hear about this."

Smiling innocently as possible, she leant in toward her in a teasing manner. "Try me."

"Well…" Lowering her voice even more, she went on, "I assume if we talk about this, we can have a similar 'nobody knows about this' policy? Cuz like, I get that me telling about Weiss would be a much bigger deal because she's a celebrity, but I still don't want Penny thinking I'd tell just anybody our secret stuff."

"Scouts honour! Even though I was never a Scout." But stopping herself before she too ended up rambling, she leant in. "Go on?"

Shrugging in defeat on the topic of scouts versus brownies, the smaller girl said, "Penny's asexual. And like, she loves making out and cuddling and all that stuff? But she also doesn't want to do anything… um… further." Clearing her throat, she went on, "Like she's cool with me doing it to myself while we're kissing, but she gets uncomfortable about the whole thing, so I've only tried that a couple times. Everything else about her is great, but that part is… it's different."

"So, she's ace, but you're not?" She began to keep her voice down as well, but judging by the sound of the sizzling food still, there was no chance Penny would be able to hear what was being discussed. "Well… are you really okay with that? Because that's something that if you don't think you will be, she's gotta know. Gotta be honest because it’s too important."

"So far, I am. I mean… I don't really know how I feel about… d-doing things with actual people, to be completely honest. Not yet, anyway. But I think I would have tried it if I wasn’t with Penny, I guess." An awkward little laugh floated out of her. "Is this super weird to be talking to my sister about?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Yang ruffled her hair once again. "Hey, you can talk to me about anything. I mean, it was weird enough for your brother to turn around and say he's actually your sister, right?"

"But that was about who you are!" Ruby protested, grabbing Yang's arm hard, trying to make sure she impressed upon her how important her words were. "And okay, I was weirded out at first because we were talking about… parts, and stuff, but it wasn't that bad, and it was so important! So never apologise for that, okay?!"

Unable to help herself, she leant in against Ruby's side, hugging her yet again. They'd been through this whole speech before, but as always, her sister's loyalty nearly bought her to tears. But still, they were off topic.

"Good. So you don't apologise for talking to me about this stuff, okay? Seriously, you're gonna have to say something really ridiculous to phase me. Like you've been in an eight-person gangbang in a closet or something."

That easily, the younger sibling turned to stone. A stone statue with an extremely ruddy face.

"You're pulling my leg, right?" But when she was appearing more and more serious, the jokey expression on Yang’s face started to vanish. "…Right?"

"I…" But luckily, the door to the guest room clicking open saved Ruby the need to answer. Instead, she overcompensated for knowing about their night together by being a bit cheerier than usual. "W-WEISS! HI! HELLO, HI, HOW ARE YOU THIS MORNING?!?!?"

Such actions made Yang cringe, closing her eyes even tighter than normal when she hunched her shoulders. But nonetheless, she stood from their impromptu seat. "Morning, sleepy-head!"

"Hmmhh," Weiss groaned, wobbling as she walked. A very telling wobble. However, she was now dressed in the same fuzzy socks and nightshirt from the night previous; nobody would have been the wiser, if not for Ruby stumbling upon the scene.

"H-how did you sleep?" Ruby asked nervously. "That bed was pretty comfortable when I used it last…" Then she buried her face in her hands. Apparently, realizing that Weiss and Yang had used the same bed she slept in for other activities was not helping matters much.

Realising herself that Ruby would soon have to return to that bed, she couldn't help but cringe again, looking over to her sister as she mouthed the words 'sorry' to her. But soon after, she looked back up at her girlfriend again, smiling softly. The sleepy expression of Weiss was everything she adored.

"Seemed you slept well, huh Weiss-y?"

"Yeah," she sighed as she sank down next to Yang on that top step, rubbing the corner of one eye idly. "Didn't think you'd already be up when I woke up… up."

"I, uh… had help." She quickly glanced toward Ruby again. She'd know exactly what was meant of course, but the diva would be none the wiser. In fact… a certain ginger-haired girl helped play into another meaning it could be.

"Ruby? Did you ask Weiss and Yang what they wanted?"

"OH! No, I didn't yet - they were just waking up!" Turning to them, she asked, "What did you guys want for breakfast?"

"Hmm? Oh…" Shrugging, Weiss yawned as she asked, "Do you have any grapefruit? But really, I'm fine with whatever."

"I can have a look, but I'm mainly doing hot things! Like pancakes or eggs and bacon!" Penny called up again from the foot of the stairs.

And right away the blonde bruiser licked her lips, patting her belly contently. "Eggs and bacon, now we're talkin’."

"Great! Let's go get some of that eggs and bacon!"

With a happy grin, Ruby began bouncing down the stairs. As Weiss got up to follow her and Yang, her brow furrowed. "Wait… why were we all sitting on the stairs just now?"

When Weiss was at her level, she placed a hand on her shoulder, waiting till Ruby was enough out of earshot again. She had every right to know now, at least to put her mind at ease. "She walked in on us… cuddling. So I just explained. Was no big deal, trust me."

"Oh, okay. Do you think I have time t-" Then Weiss was jumping back so violently that she almost fell over the railing.

"SHE _WHAT?!?!"_

* * *

 

Thirty minutes into Weiss's first New York performance and she had the crowd wrapped around her finger. She'd already performed three of her singles before seguing into some deep cuts, leaving megahits like “Broken Mirror” till last as something to wait for. Complete with the lighting, occasional pyrotechnics display, and background dancers, it was a spectacle to behold.

A sight her girlfriend was seeing first hand. Nestled in stage left, Yang was out of sight but had the perfect vantage point. She wouldn't get the same experience that the audience got, but it didn't matter anymore. She had her own experience with Weiss now, whenever she was off the stage.

She let out a sigh of relief as her mind wandered back to their conversation about Ruby. Poor Weiss had nearly jumped through the roof! But considering it was Yang’s sister – and that she was queer herself – it had been a lot less frightening for the closeted pop star than if it were someone else finding out, so she was able to calm down in time for their breakfast to only be slightly less warm.

They also promised themselves to actually _lock_ the door when they went to bed next time.

More and more, she had begun to think about the whole of the situation. She was the first partner Weiss had ever had, her first kiss, her first lover. Considering her Christian upbringing, it meant a lot to her that Weiss could think that Yang was the one for her. _The One_. And the more Yang watched her girlfriend perform, the more she could only smile, humming contently to herself as she folded her arms. It had only been a month, but perhaps Weiss was ready to hear that very special word from her. The L word.

"Locoweed."

That was not the L word she meant.

When Yang turned around, it was to see Winter Schnee, with another clipboard in her hand and a sour expression hitched into place – as usual. When Yang didn't respond immediately, she continued, "Or 'La Buena'. That's why I can't find anything in the system about you before the past few years, isn't it? You did time for ferrying drugs up from some Latin American country or other, and you made some kind of deal with the FBI to get a new identity in exchange for information on your suppliers. Admit it!"

Because of the volume of the music, Yang barely understood a word of Winter's strange accusation. When on earth did Winter even get to New York?! Last time she was around at one of Weiss's concert, Weiss was held at knife point and almost taken away, and that seemed like months ago – even if it was only a few weeks. Still, she stepped away from the side of the stage, rolling her eyes now that she had to miss half of her girlfriend performing "Below Zero".

"What was that? Sorry, was enjoying the show. Nice to see you again, Winter!" Kill her with kindness, right?

"Don't dodge the question," Winter snapped immediately, pointing her pen at the bodyguard. "I want to know why you have no history before these past few years!"

Yang rolled her eyes; this was about to be a very long conversation if Winter wasn't going to give in. Stepping within range where she could hear her properly, she said, "What is your deal? Why do you have to snoop on my history anyway? It was your dad's decision to hire me, and I'm doing a good job! Why is that not enough?"

"You have something to hide and I mean to find out what it is! Were you with the CIA? Are you in the Witness Protection Program? That's it – you were in the Chinese mafia, and now you're on the lamb!"

"Wow, okay. Thanks for that random racism throwback." Yang folded her arms, leaning back against the wall as she listened to each of Winter's ridiculous accusations. "Why do you think that you not finding info means I have something to hide? Even worse, why would you jump to assuming I've committed some kind of big crime?!"

Finally, Winter stepped closer until they were nose to nose, her perfectly-positioned fringe brushing against Yang's messy bangs. "Because I don't trust you. Not with my little sister's _life_. Just because you have protected her in the past doesn’t mean you have no ulterior motive, and I will _never_ stop digging until I find-"

"Oh just shut _up_ already! _"_ Having had enough, Yang glared straight back at the older girl, having no problem with even placing one hand on her shoulder and pushing her out of her personal space. Maybe she had to tell her _something_. When Weiss first heard of Yang's birthname, she assumed the only change was one letter, nothing more about it. Unless one was Chinese themselves, that would be all the perceptible difference between the two names: one letter, rather than male and female. If Winter was truly never going to stop digging, never going to stop accusing her, did she have much of a choice?

"You really want to find out all my past? Get that dumb tablet of yours and try searching _‘Ying_ Xiao Long’ this time. No criminal record, no crazy FBI bio or whatever… totally clean. Maybe _then_ you'll leave me alone and just let me help you protect Weiss!"

The instant she heard that, she was scribbling "Ying" onto the page of her clipboard. That wasn't the end of it, of course. Raising her pen back up, she hissed, "This isn't over. In the meantime, if so much as a hair gets shifted out of place on her head, I'm coming for you first, Blondie. I would _die_ for her. Can you say the same?" Then she turned and walked back off into the wings, snapping at a stagehand who was in her way to move or be removed.

"Funny, because the last time she was in harm's way was because of _you!_ " She made sure to get that comment out before Winter was completely out of view, gradually returning to her position at the stage side again. She'd missed that one song, but there was still far more to go.

It was only after a while she began to gather her thoughts on what had just happened. She just gave her deadname out to Winter. A part of her hoped she would remain professional, _only_ check the police records to make sure they were clean and leave it at that. But the more she thought about that, the more unlikely it seemed. If Winter was going to search she was going to dig and dig until she found something. But so what if she did? Telling Weiss would do nothing, considering she knew all that now and had accepted it. Telling their father would only make Weiss argue with them both, with her inevitably winning; and there was no way that she would tell the press when it could ruin her sister's career…

Would she?

* * *

 

When Weiss finally made her way backstage after a second encore, all she wanted to do was peel off her sweat-soaked clothing and sleep for six days. Of course, that wasn't possible, because she was expected to meet and greet two or three fans with backstage passes – which, ever the professional, she did. That took up another hour of her time. By the time all that was over, she practically fell into her dressing room.

"Someone carry me to the bus," she groaned as she sank down into the provided couch.

"Hold on, princess. You still got a bike ride to Penny's yet." Any other time, Yang would have carried the sleepy Weiss back to the tour bus and tucked her into bed. But when bed was across the city, they needed to wake her up again – and change her into better travelling clothes. With that in mind she locked the door, turning to face her. "Ready to get into a tracksuit? Probably more comfortable."

"Yeah," she agreed, her glittering translucent high heels already clattering to the ground. "Just… yeah, go for it."

"A-okay." She smiled contently, wandering over to the neatly folded casual clothes Weiss had prepared on her dressing table for the events after the show. As she unfolded them, her smile turned into a grin. "I actually had time to watch tonight! Dunno if you saw."

A quiet but satisfied little smile pulled at her lips as she snuggled deeper into the couch. "I did! I love seeing you there… when I can, of course."

"Yeah. I mean, I kinda missed ‘Below Zero’ because of-" Quickly stopping herself, she cleared her throat to buy herself some time. No, telling Weiss about Winter would only worry her. She didn't need the stress. "Of, uh, a staff member asking questions."

"Mm, good." Her breaths were already getting deeper and slower as she laid there. "That's… beautiful…"

Noticing Weiss was getting considerably slack against the sofa, she chuckled to herself, tossing the pair of pants right at her face. "C'mon, sleepy head, you can't sleep yet!"

"Watch me," she half-giggled, trying to roll over and failing. "Unzip me first. Then I can just get out of this when I get up."

"Unzip me first, then I can just get out of this whenyehnyeh," Yang mocked in a ridiculously whingey voice, pulling a silly face for when Weiss went to glare at her.

But still, she did as she was asked, smiling as she placed one hand on her shoulder, the other gently pulling down the zip of her fuchsia dress as commanded. The hand on her shoulder began to work its magic as well, kneading into the tense muscles and working away at them gradually, thumb pressing into the harder spots.

"Ooohhh," Weiss groaned in appreciation, relaxing into the touch. "Oh, that's… magic! If you could just… yeah, a little more of that? Sorry, wow I am wiped…"

"Sure thing, princess."

Unlike the first time Yang tried her hand at massaging Weiss, now she was completely comfortable with such affairs. Hearing each and every contented noise she made when Yang hit the tougher spots and broke them down was what she craved, even if the occasional moan was sending shivers down her own spine, and heat into her trousers. Now that her bare back was exposed, she began to work both shoulders, and gradually progressed down her back. Might as well get her completely unwound before she got dressed again; she would feel less grumpy.

"How can you be so good to me?" Weiss breathed as the dress was peeled further down her body, exposing more of her back to the ministrations of her bodyguard. "I… spend all day with publicists and hairdressers and all kinds of people, and then you just… dig in with your thumbs, and you're so much more awesome…"

Digging in toward the bottom of her spine, just above her hips, Yang smiled at that remark, leaning down to press a soft kiss between her shoulder blades. "Because I can offer you the services they can't? Let's call ‘em girlfriend perks."

The tiny sigh was too cute and too pure. "Yeah. Girlfriend perks. I got those… in spades." As Yang's hands worked, she began to wriggle against them, head weaving back and forth slightly. "Mmmhhh… so perfect…"

Straddling over Weiss's legs on the sofa, she continued to work her magic, continually kneading at the tense muscles of her lower back, continuing to pepper between her shoulder blades with kisses again and again. It was certainly girlfriend perks that were in play here. But eventually such kisses began to brew an ulterior motive, made obvious by how they were rising upward, until they were at her neck instead.

"Ooh, ooh…" The way she was beginning to writhe more and more made it clear that she was beginning to respond to the simple actions. After a few more kisses, she whispered, "Tell me… what you want from me, baby…"

 _"God,_ you sound so hot when you talk like that…" Why? That sort of teasing “dirty talk” wasn’t something that did much for Yang before, yet when Weiss did it, it drove her insane. Maybe it was the taboo of it – that in effect, Weiss really was the good girl gone bad.

Or perhaps because she knew that she wouldn't speak to anyone else that way. To anyone else, Yang was Weiss's loyal employee, doing as she was told with the odd sarcastic comment. But behind closed doors, sometimes the roles were switched. Yang was more commanding than her. It was certainly apparent in this case.

"What do I want from you?" she repeated, beginning to slide her hands around her diva's hips. "This dress off completely, for a start."

Humming in satisfaction, she raised her hindquarters up for Yang to slide it off easily, then raised her knees and shins in succession until the dress was gone. All that was left was a very sheer fuchsia thong – probably in place to prevent any errant upskirt pictures from finding their way all over the internet. Her girlfriend growled low in appreciation, tossing the dress to one side as she half closed her eyes. Lust filled her mind when she looked down at Weiss's body, staring hungrily. She wanted to kiss it, continually.

"Turn over," she commanded. "Lemme see what I have here…"

The look Weiss gave her over her shoulder was mischievous, almost more like a child about to start a game of tag rather than a woman flirting with her bodyguard. "But I thought you were giving me a massage. What is it you need to see?"

"What kind of question is that?" she asked, idly tracing a fingertip up and down her spine teasingly. "Do I really need a reason to want to see my perfect girlfriend's bangin’ body?"

As had happened before, Weiss's eyes closed for a moment when she heard the word "perfect". She still had trouble believing that could apply to her, even after their positive bedroom experiences had proven Yang didn't care about the very slight asymmetry of one part of herself. But after a moment, she opened them again as she slowly rolled over onto her back, looking up at her bodyguard.

"Suppose you don't."

"There we go." Now she could gaze at Weiss in all her glory. It was remarkable now to see her so much more confident about her body, even if it was still a work in progress; at least now, she wasn't scrambling to hide her body as soon as possible. Nor did she protest when Yang's hands fell to her hips again, fingers hooking the waistband of her underwear as she started to pull them down.

However, there was a shaky laugh as she was stripped entirely. "You… really don't waste any time, do you?" Biting her bottom lip, she gazed up at Yang affectionately, thighs pressing together – not overly hard, but just out of habit.

"Not when it's you," she agreed, leaning back in toward her again to begin kissing her neck and collarbone. As her lips worked their magic, her hands wasted no time trailing upward to her petite breasts and beginning to grope and knead at them instead. Yang had always loved them, even if they were rather small. They were a perfect size for her to get her hands around.

"Nnhhh," she sighed easily, petting her hand up and down Yang's neck. Before now, she'd never given much thought to how nice it felt to have her chest teased. It was such a muted, pleasant feeling… until Yang brushed over the peaks. Then sensation burst forth, causing her to bite her lip harder, throwing her head back.

Opening one of her eyes to look up at Weiss's expression, she began to smirk. That was new… and it was something she liked. Drawing her thumbs in circles around the sensitive peaks, even pressing in against them, she continued to watch what she was doing, what responses she was giving.

Shuddering gasps spilled out of Weiss at the attentions. Yang had never ignored them, not really, but this was more extended play than she was accustomed to… and she didn't mind it in the slightest. Opening her mouth, she licked her lips as her back arched upward more and more, as if seeking out the wandering hands on its own without any prompting from her mind.

So she was going to give her more. Far more. At first, Yang was aiming to simply turn Weiss on enough to pin her against the sofa and show her what going hard really meant, as she’d promised. Seemed that idea had now changed. Now, her kisses were heading down the middle of her cleavage as they aimed for her left breast. Once at the peak, she took it into her mouth, suckling on it gently.

"A-aahhhhh!" Weiss let out, shivering all over as her hands clenched in her girlfriend's blonde locks. "Oh wow, you… you're so good at this!" Then a mad little cackle fell from her lips. "Remind me to… call Blake and thank her for teaching you all you needed to know!"

The words somewhat landed on deaf ears. Yang was all too focused on the ever hardening nipple in her mouth, suckling on it even harder than before. Her tongue flicked out against it, circling it in the same rhythm as her thumb on the other breast. How could she have not done this before when Weiss loved it so much?

Perhaps because Weiss herself had no idea, either. Somehow she hadn't thought to tease her own after teasing Yang's; it might have had to do with her putting that out of her mind after the slight fiasco over her asking about who had done the work. That memory still brought a guilty flush to her cheeks… but not as much now as before. She was growing, learning from her innocent mistakes. Becoming the thoughtful partner that a special woman like Yang deserved.

"Your lips are magic," she whispered hotly, once she had shaken the reflections on the nature of their relationship. "God, I can't believe how good this is…"

She parted her lips a moment to say, "I'm glad you like it," before immediately joining them again as she continued to tease and stroke with her tongue, flicking over the delicate nub again, and again, and again.

Little did Weiss know; there was a motive to her play. Oh, a big motive. To Weiss, it was play, to Yang, it was practice for a much loftier goal.

But Weiss was entirely oblivious as she whispered, "How do you get me naked so often – and so easily? Like, I’ve rebuffed some pretty charming celebrities who only wanted to take me out to dinner, and… you barely have to lift a finger, and suddenly all my clothes are off and y…" She paused to gasp at a particularly firm lick. "And you're driving me _crazy!"_

With a few firmer licks, she parted from the breast, a small string of saliva still connecting them until she drew back far enough. "You think that's good?" she asked, wiping what little amount was on her lips away. "I haven’t even started."

Her motive was now revealed. When the lips returned, it was not to her peak; she continued to kiss, over and over again down the breast, down her stomach. Where her mouth had left, her hand replaced it, thumbs gliding over the nipples both in unison on either side while she continued to kiss down her heiress's body.

 Down her stomach… below her stomach…

"O-ooh," she gasped at the combined feeling upon her stomach and her chest. That changed to a "Wha…?" when she felt lips just edging their way into her thatch of pubic hair, but an instant later she was sitting up slightly, hands braced against the couch.

"Yang, are y-you- _again?_ You don't have to prove anything to me, I told you!"

At first, she drew away. It seemed as though she was going to listen to Weiss's plea and end it there. But a sly smirk later said otherwise.

There was a sudden rush as she darted forward again, at the same level as when she pampered it with kisses the first time she had the pleasure. But there were no gentle kisses this time. Instead there was a long, firm lick, starting from the bottom of her lips and trailing up to the top, finishing with a slight flicker over her clit. And all Weiss could do was cry out in complete shock at the sensations, at Yang's treatment. This was an outrage! It was horrible! And yet… it felt wonderful, better than she could have expected – if she had any inclination to imagine this happening before now. Which she had not.

It happened again, multiple times. Sometimes she would deliberately mix it up, licking to the left, then to the right. Other times she would focus on her clit and upper lips, then others it was lower, toward her entrance as she encircled it, able to feel the moisture beginning to build up once more. Maybe she wasn't going to be going full tilt tonight, but by God, she was going to treat her like a queen.

"Oh Yang, you- MMHHHH! This is- stop! No, d-don't stop, I didn't- NNNhhhh UGH, I've never felt anything like this!"

Already, Weiss's hips were bucking up into the face bringing so much pleasure to where they met each other. From zero to finish in a few minutes? Was it possible? At the times when her hips bucked forward and into her face, it forced Yang’s nose to brush against her clit. But it never stopped her, it just made her burrow her face further in. Hands leaving her breasts, they held her thighs apart, keeping her in such a position as she kept going.

Sure enough, the nose against her clit was the tiniest bit of pressure needed to bring Weiss off completely. Crying out softly, she was just able to keep from screaming into the open air – and therefore probably alerting the security outside. Despite her reservations about Yang using her tongue like this, it turned out to be one of her favourite plans yet.

In a way, Yang was disappointed this couldn't go on for longer. She would’ve been there all day if she could, continually lapping at her flower, teasing the folds; but the satisfaction of how fast she had made Weiss finish was enough to compensate.

But such moans, such a scent and taste was doing more than enough for Yang as well. When she leant back, her length was completely obvious in her shorts. Hard, ready for whatever Weiss wanted to do in return.

“Whoa… oooh, okay, I’m definitely awake now!” Stretching each limb alternately, Weiss glanced over and saw the obvious protrusion – and smirked to herself. "Ooh, looks like your little boy is, too." Then she dropped her voice to a whisper. "I put it that way because you call him 'him', but we can change it to ‘her’ anytime you want. Totally fine by me."

"I always just… called it a him because he's silly and dumb, but if you wanna call it a her…" Although to get to business, she shifted herself back to give Weiss more room to get up, to get ready to leave. Time to head back.

However, the diva made a grabby hand motion toward Yang's shorts, as if beckoning "him" closer. "I think he – or she – is neither silly nor dumb. Maybe we use your last name… 'Lao _Schlong_ '? Too derivative?"

If anything, it made her chuckle. But she didn't shuffle forward just yet. Instead, she started to unzip them, putting on an act for her. "Maybe… Either way, _they_ seem to want your attention."

"Ohhhh," Weiss purred, cheeks still flushed from Yang getting her off so effortlessly. "Then _they_ have it." Her hand remained out, waiting for something to grasp onto.

Once it was unzipped enough, Yang shifted forward again, giving Weiss the privilege to grasp her again. Even if she was already nearly naked, Yang was going to drag out getting herself undressed for a little longer. She wasn't going to let Weiss get her off as quickly as Yang did her; if they were really going to keep this up, they might as well go all in.

And the diva seemed to sense that she wanted to draw things out, so she licked her lips and gently traced her fingers along the top, pressing downward. Feeling it shift made her giggle with glee. "Oh my, Lao certainly seems to have enjoyed your… devouring of me as much as you did." Her other hand was already sliding the shorts further down and off. “Imagine that!”

 _"She_ sure did…" Why not test it? She had only really called that part of her a boyish name because she was used to trying to disassociate it with herself in previous relationships. But in her current one, it played a vital part. After all, it had more or less become Weiss's favourite plaything.

Besides, girls _could_ have penises; she firmly believed that, even if it had taken her a while to come around to that way of thinking. No reason hers couldn’t be a girl-penis, after all. The light pressure was certainly helping things as she grinned in her own pleasure, unable to help but push herself up against it to try and feel more.

"Mmm…" Caressing along the warm skin, the diva’s nimble fingers slowly curled around it until she was stroking her more fully. Her smile was a bit lazy from already having been finished off once. "She feels so good to me… all of you does, though."

A breathy sigh later, Yang started to stare upward at the ceiling blankly, revealing in the feeling of having her member toyed with again. Why were those small hands so very good at this? After such a short time together, she already knew exactly where to apply pressure, how hard and fast. Certainly not what anyone would have expected from a hardcore Christian girl.

When she could feel the length was all the way up to its full attention, Weiss began to slide her hand up and down it faster. Her lips twitched a few times… and it wasn't until she ran her tongue along them that she seemed to figure out why they were so restless.

"I… I want to get closer, but I can't get up…" Seemed her concert-related exhaustion wasn’t so easily dismissed, after all. Her hand began to tug the cock closer, angling to get it directly over her face. "Help?"

"I thought it was the ones with vaginas that sat on people's faces?" she joked. If Weiss really was so desperate to give her member some attention with her mouth, she would be crazy to refuse it. Although…

Maybe they could both do that? As she edged closer, she began to think about that more and more… She could get Weiss off twice, perhaps, if she turned herself around. That was, if Weiss wanted that.

"…What about something a little more fun?"

"But this is the most fun," she responded with a little pout. When she noticed Yang looked quite devious, like her mind was full of wickedness, she cocked an eyebrow and said, "Very well, what were you plotting?"

Why explain if she could show? Managing to shuffle herself around on top of Weiss's body, she eventually nestled herself to one side of Weiss. But her positioning made the intent perfectly obvious. If Yang were to move to the side where she intended, her face would be right against Weiss's crotch, and Yang's cock in Weiss's face.

"You up for round two?"

Weiss instantly caught on – but she hesitated, a flutter in her stomach as she continued petting the thick arousal. Certain logistics seemed off to her. "Wait, but… this will be, um, an interesting new angle. Is this going to work? You know… upside down like that?"

"Of course. It's called a sixty-nine; people do it all the time," she assured her, gently prising Weiss's legs apart to expose that which she had just devoured once more. Even from just rubbing Yang's cock, she was already growing ready for her fingers again. Visibly damp.

That was another matter entirely. Weiss stared down past her own breasts and Yang's shirt-wrapped ones, completely taken aback at what Yang meant to do. AGAIN? And while her own needs were being seen to? This was madness, it was…

Arousing. Much as she wanted to pretend she had no real desire to try this, that Yang should just let her have her fun and leave a double-orgasm for another day, she knew her body was ready for seconds.

"S… sixty-nine, huh? Why do they call it that?" Her question was innocent enough, but she was already rolling to face Yang's sex. Which would also give Yang the same pleasure with her own.

"Who knows? A lot of the positions have funny names…" She was already reaching for one of Weiss's thighs, about to pull it up by her shoulder so they could do things on their sides. That is, until Weiss began pulling Yang entirely on top of her, so that her length would literally hang down toward her face. When she felt the difference in their tactics, she whispered, “Whoa!”

"Sorry, I didn't… am I doing this wrong?"

"U-Uh…" The opposite. If anything, this was arousing Yang even more. She never expected for Weiss to want Yang completely on top of her with her cock thrusting down toward her face, but there they were. She could already feel Weiss's breath against her member. Adjusting her knees so they were either side her shoulders, so she really would be straddling her head, she looked down at Weiss's sex. "I mean… No, not at all. But are you okay with this? I'd have thought I'd be a little heavy."

"Not _that_ heavy. And If you keep your knees bent like that…" Yes, this was easily manageable. And provided a glorious view – one that whet her appetite most thoroughly. Why had she never taken a good look at Yang from this angle before? Before she could stop herself, she let out a quiet little "Mmm" of hunger, as if she was entering a restaurant after not having eaten all day. It made her cheeks burn with embarrassment once she realized she'd done so.

Leaning inward toward Weiss's sex, she could already smell that wonderful scent again. It hadn't even been five whole minutes since she got her off last, but it didn't even matter. "So… you ready?"

Instead of answering, Weiss guided the stiff flesh to her mouth and took it in immediately, swirling her tongue around the head. Ohhh, it was so satisfying – even though she still couldn't quite understand why.

"Ah! S-shit!" Suddenly she had begun to shudder on top of Weiss's body, knees and arms struggling to keep herself a decent distance from her. Well, the arms she could give in anyway, so she did. Taking the plunge yet again, she connected her lips with Weiss's lower ones again, immediately licking at the delicate flesh between them, and the delicate nub above.

There was an "MMMHH!" around Yang's cock, vibrating deep into the tissue; that felt too good! Weiss could scarcely believe she was being pleasured while having Yang in her mouth this way. But she loved it. This was even more satisfying than just taking Yang in by itself – though she still would gladly do that whenever possible. Now they could both receive pleasure at once, and in _two_ areas of their bodies, since Weiss loved sucking on Yang as much as she did. It was a dream come true.

Both of their moans were silenced by the other's sex. Unable to help herself, Yang very slightly thrust her hips back and forth, testing the sensations and the reactions as she continued to lick the delicate flower beneath her tongue. Only this time, she knew Weiss would need a little something extra to orgasm straight after her first one.

Drawing a finger toward them, she began to circle Weiss's entrance with it, keeping her tongue's attentions to the clit and the labia while the finger gathered up more moisture, in perpetration of going inside.

That definitely did the trick. Pleasure exploded between Weiss’s hips from this additional teasing, but she didn't let herself focus on it – not completely. Slackening her jaw, Weiss allowed her head to weave from side to side in response to her girlfriend's movements. It was important to her that she not have to take it out any more than was strictly necessary; she wanted to _learn_ this. She needed to know how to please Yang.

On occasion, her thrusts made the head brush against the roof of her mouth. That was when Yang was starting to become undone. She quivered and shuddered when that deep pleasure happened, vibrating against Weiss's clit as she licked there once more. Deciding it was time to go further, she held two fingers together, and began to thrust in and out of her with them. Slowly at first, then bringing in more speed as her hips did, matching in unison.

That moment of being entered with two fingers – not just one but _two_ , starting off with that much – was the closest Weiss came to gagging that night. But she didn't. Taking a few hasty breaths through her nose kept her from losing control and needing to withdraw the thick meat from between her lips. In fact, when she began to relax into the rhythm, somehow being stabbed into repeatedly helped her accept yet more into her throat.

Was this really happening? Yang was in her _throat._ She didn't think that could be comfortable – and it wasn't, not really. It was a struggle to keep things going. But apparently, it was possible, and she enjoyed the triumph of being able to handle so much more of her than before. The extreme tightness only made Yang moan even louder against her clit again.

This was phenomenal! When did Weiss practice enough to do this without managing to gag or push her away? It was beyond what she could describe, the constant waves of pleasure shooting through her with each thrust. She wanted more, so much more! Her hips picked up their pace, as did the fingers, working their way deeper inside and aiding with her tongue to get her to her end once more. All she wished is that they both could together, mutually.

Tears pricked at the corner of Weiss's eyes. Not because she was upset or displeased, and definitely not from the fingers slamming deep into her so fast, but simply due to complete shock. Yang was literally _fucking her face_. There was no other way to describe what was happening; it was the exact same activity as the night previous, except aimed at a different orifice this time. The feeling of the cock sliding in and out of her mouth without her having to move amplified all of the delicious shame she felt from the activity before – not that she understood what "delicious shame" was, or why she thought of it that way.

But even beyond that… it was the feeling of Yang's soft sack bouncing off her nose now and then that made her feel as both as hot and as low as she'd ever felt. She'd have to thank her for that afterward.

It didn't take too long until Yang could feel her legs beginning to quiver. Already after a few short minutes of thrusting into Weiss's throat again and again, she could feel her end coming. Maybe she was going to get her off just as fast after all. But that didn't mean it wouldn’t be just as satisfying.

"I'm close, Weiss! G-god I'm close!" she managed to call out between breaths as she parted from Weiss's sex a moment, before her lips crashed back down. Straight back to her tongue circling the sensitive clit over and over again, and straight back to thrusting two of her fingers in and out at just as fast a pace as her thrusts into her mouth. Maybe this was classed as less of lovemaking and more of a quickie, but they didn't care. They only cared about sharing their pleasure.

Weiss didn't dare nod or make another noise while Yang was so deep in the throes, and while the tongue was so lovingly sending her careening into another orgasm. She wanted them both to finish, and for Yang to spurt that thick fluid down into her throat – it was such an odd desire to have, but she did want it. Even if she wasn't sure how her throat would handle it, she wanted to at least try.

However… as Yang thrust into her so hard and fast that the sack continued to occasionally bounce off her nose or upper lip, adding that extra burst of shame, she noticed something. Barely visible over the slight mound at the base of the length between her lips, there was an asterisk of slick, dark skin. Yang's ass. For some reason, it struck her as larger than she'd thought one to be - despite the fact that she definitely had never looked at her own, and had no reason to look at anyone else's. She didn't even have a reason to look at Yang's right now.

But she was. A lot. From the moment it became an unavoidable part of her field of vision, the pop star had been unconsciously ignoring the little opening. Then consciously ignoring it. Now, she was gazing at it with intensity, curiosity… that was where Yang had accepted her male lovers. And enjoyed them there; she had told her as much in bed. Could it really feel that pleasurable? No. Yang insisted it was, though…

Her mind felt as if it were in a haze as her hand trailed up from Yang's cheek, inching inward with every thrust. Truly, she was a horrible woman if she was willing to debase herself like this, knowing what that hole was normally used for… but she had to find out if it was true. Steeling herself, Weiss pressed the pad of her index finger gently against the centre.

Suddenly, the bodyguard’s eyes snapped open. In the midst of her pleasure thrusting into Weiss's mouth, she never felt the hand steadily making its way there – not until the finger was pressing against the skin, and her muscles seemed to take it in slightly thanks to the pressure Weiss applied. She hadn't expected that area to be stimulated, not now, or in their whole relationship for that matter.

But surprise wasn't the only reaction such a thing caused. It also made her yell out in pure pleasure, which soared through every vein and nerve in her body. Right against Weiss's clit, she called out loudly, sending extra vibrations as her body quivered at Weiss's touch. One more thrust later, and her member throbbed in Weiss's throat again, releasing yet more white seed out inside her. More than she had before, definitely a side effect from such an intense orgasm caused by a stray finger.

"HNNHHH!" Weiss moaned against the cock as it poured itself into her, throat working furiously to get it all down and keep it there. Wow, this was positively filling her! Partly awful, partly incredible, she wasn't entirely sure she ever wanted to experience this deep a penetration of her mouth again.

But she would do it if Yang asked. In a heartbeat.

Seconds later, her own second orgasm was rocking her from the bodyguard screaming against her sensitive little nub, and she was raising her hips up to meet it. Yang had scarcely finished spurting when it happened, and she was glad for that; swallowing at the same time as her climax would probably have been impossible.

Suddenly Yang went slack. Completely exhausted from such an intense dose of pleasure, she took a moment to pant heavily against Weiss's sex, having to blink repeatedly to try and see something. But her vision was completely clouded by such an intense experience.

Upon shuffling a little, she realised that she was still inside her girlfriend's throat. No doubt she would also want to gasp for breath as well! Drawing herself back out again, she allowed herself to fall to Weiss's side, drawing her fingers back out from Weiss's entrance again as she regained her breath. That was probably the most intense orgasm she had ever experienced.

And Weiss rolled with Yang when she moved, still facing the softening cock once it was free, gasping for breath but still trying to swallow so she wouldn't make that much of a mess. Some fluid dribbled down the corner of her mouth, but it was negligible.

A minute or so later, after they had both spent some time re-oxygenating their bodies, Weiss panted, "Okay… I'm sorry if… this offends you, but… wh-what do I do with this now?" Her finger wiggled, still pressed against Yang's anus. "I mean… it's dirty…"

Yang was still coming down from her high even as Weiss continued to touch her, humming contently at the slight dwindling pleasure it gave to her. It took a short moment for her to look downward toward Weiss again before she even realised she asked a question!

"W-well… The guys used to, um, wash their hands I guess? I mean…" Shuffling her position slightly, she let one of her hands idly trace over Weiss’s stomach, lightly stroking the small thatch of hair above her sex. "Sorry, I'm just… holy shit, have you practicing? You took me really _really_ deep this time – like a pro!"

"Well…" At first, it seemed like Weiss might wave that off. Pretend Yang hadn't asked. But as her cheeks began to flush even more than they already were from their activities, she broke down. "Remember that gift basket somebody gave me, that I started to throw away? Well, I, um… when you were in the shower, I retrieved the summer sausage, and, um… it…"

"Holy shit, you actually _did_ practice!"

Turning her face aside, she pressed it into Yang's thigh. "Shut up!"

The blonde couldn't help but laugh at her lover's embarrassment, delicately stroking the hairs yet again as she continued to stare toward her direction where Weiss was hiding herself. Although, all this talk of practice made her blush as well.

"Was I okay?" she asked. "I mean, it's been years since I last tried."

"Okay at copulating with my face?! Yes, I think you did a fantastic job of that!" The tone was petulant, but definitely as a result of Yang laughing at her.

"Oh I meant… w-well." Hearing the laughter made her start to trail off, letting a small chuckle of her own out. However, she did trail her fingers slightly downward. "I meant with… this."

Shivering at the light touch, Weiss said, "O-oh. You did incredible! Why wouldn't you have? I mean…" Shifting her position, she finally withdrew her fingertip from Yang's tiny opening, but she still kept it in much the same area. "You're the one that's actually had sex before I came along. Even if pleasing a vagina was a while ago for you, at least it happened before! You had an actual lesson before now!"

"Well… Even then, I just wanna make sure you're satisfied, you know?" Shifting again, she leant her head against one of Weiss's thighs as she stared into nothingness.

"I'm… always satisfied with you." The minute she finished saying it, Weiss groaned. "That sounds like such a corny movie line, doesn't it?"

But the comment actually made Yang smile, pressing a kiss against her thigh. "It's actually an honour to hear."

"Good," Weiss sighed in return, snuggling in against the thigh. "Because I love you too much to let you think anything else."

A single word flashed through Yang’s mind like a bright red neon sign.

‘ _WHAT?!’_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, some impending doom in this one. But don't worry - it'll get brighter before it gets darker, then gets brighter again. Sorry about the long waits, I'm still juggling projects but trying not to let TOO long go between them. Hope you all still dig it! We love reading all the reviews, people guessing what's coming next, or even just saying they're looking forward to more. Really means a lot!
> 
> Also Ruby is the gayest bean tbh lmao


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Transphobia. Also random original song lyrics (haha)

**=Chapter 16**

For a moment, Yang was in complete silence. There was a stray word in the last sentence Weiss had spoken that was a little less than common – one that took all rational thoughts out of Yang's head, and all the breath from her lungs. _Love._ And it wasn't just anyone saying this, it was _Weiss_. A pop star who could have anyone in the world. Did she hear that correctly?

"…Huh?"

"What 'huh'?" Weiss asked immediately and without any real care. "You'd rather I let you think you _didn’t_ satisfy me? I'm not _that_ rude!"

"No no, I mean…" She swallowed, shuffling backward at last to sit upright instead, taking a seat opposite her. "I mean… you said because you…"

"Because I… what, what is it? I'm not supposed to care about your feelings? Wait…" Her brain worked to review what she had said. Then her eyes widened, and she pushed up to her elbow to gaze at Yang's face, seeing that she was in shock. "What did I say? Seriously, what?"

"You… love me?"

She did. A cold sweat broke out over Weiss's forehead as she finally remembered having used that word, out of nowhere, without ever having discussed their feelings before. "Oh."

Did she love Yang? That was certainly how it would seem. The woman was as dear to her as anyone had ever been in her entire life. But of course, using that word came with specific connotations – relationship status connotations. Ones that might changes things a lot, for all she knew, since she’d never had a boyfriend _or_ girlfriend before. What should she do?

Meanwhile, Yang had encountered that word many times before. But each time, it lead to hurt. The first time, it was with Blake. It was mutually spoken after a few months, and both were over the moon. But of course, cementing that bond made their parting even worse, and made them feel awful for even more months after their breakup. The next, it was to Scarlet. She and him didn't last very long, but Yang had been the first one to say it. And afterwards, things became so much more difficult. He took advantage of that power, made it into a weakness for her, knowing that Yang felt awful if she were to tell him no about anything.

As she stared blankly at Weiss, she didn't know what to do. It was too soon to go through hurt again, and yet she felt more for Weiss than she had for anyone else in a long time. There was only one course of action she could seize upon that wouldn’t be a complete farce.

"Wow, I can’t believe this is my life. But… I can't say it back, Weiss. Not yet. It's not that I don't feel for you in that way, just… I’m not ready for-"

"What? Oh! I m-mean, of course! This- it came out of nowhere, I wasn't…" But then the hurt began to set in. True, neither of them had been expecting to discuss this at this random time. Even so…

Yang didn't love her? No, that wasn't quite true – or not confirmed. She couldn't _say_ she loved her. The reason behind that could be any number of things, right? Maybe she had a policy against using that word for a relationship until it had survived a certain amount of time. Or maybe she didn't do "love and marriage"; she just enjoyed people's company and didn't want any strings. They had never discussed that. Any of it.

"It's okay," she finally said in a much smaller voice as she sat up at last. And for the first time in weeks, she felt like being naked in front of Yang really was leaving her entirely exposed. Her arms crossed in front of her chest and her thighs pressed together. "You don't have to say anything you're not ready for."

Noticing Weiss's sudden movements to shield her body made Yang's heart sink. She didn't know what to say. Confessing love now would sound forced, but leaving it at nothing would be worse. It would make it look like she was using Weiss to get her rocks off and nothing more. But that certainly was not the case! She loved _everything_ about Weiss. Her company, her smile, her incredible talent… even if it took a while to get to this point, she truly did love each and every part of Weiss. But whether or not it was love, she was unsure – or at least, unsure if she was ready to admit it to _herself._

She eventually placed a hand on Weiss's cheek, trying to coax her into looking back at her again. "Please, don't think that this doesn't mean you're not special to me. Because you are. Like, holy _shit_ are you! I just don't know if I'm ready to say the L word yet… and this is gonna sound cliché and stupid, but it's really not you, it's me."

"You're right; that does sound cliché." After a few more seconds, her breathing began to get faster. And the look came across Weiss's face that had not been used in Yang's direction since the very beginning of their association. She was angry.

"I mean, what is it that I'm not providing you with? Can't be sex. Can't be affection, or taking care of you, or acceptance of who you are. I thought we were going in the same direction, but here you are, telling me I went too far."

"Not ‘too far’; I never said you did anything wrong!" She drew her hand back as if she had been burnt, her own expression turning to one that Weiss had seen on that first evening before she fled to the bathroom. Fear. Weiss really did think Yang was using her, or worse. Taking a deep breath in, she looked away to try and collect her thoughts.

"I don't want to say it too soon. Not because I don't feel the same way, but because I don't want to jump the gun, and… and end up hurting you later." Then for a moment, she folded her own arms over her chest as well, hunching her shoulders. "Last time I told someone I loved them, that's all that happened. They used me, made me feel worthless. But they knew I'd stay, because I told them I would. And I don't want to be that person. I don't want to say it until I'm absolutely _sure_ I'm the best person I can be for you, until I'm sure that I won’t hurt you like I hurt Blake… or like he hurt me."

"And you aren't sure now?! We haven't been… I don't know, perfect for each other this whole time?" The diva's voice only got sharper and sharper. "I can’t honestly believe you would treat me that way, Yang! Why should I, when you've been nothing but sweet to me since we met? Even when we were fighting, _I_ was the jerk, and you just… stood up to me, that's all! So why should you suddenly turn into a horrible person now?"

She saw the pain and fear in Yang's face. The uncertainty. It only made her angrier, but she also had a feeling – even though it was buried under the anger – that Yang wasn't trying to hurt her on purpose. Since she couldn't easily dismiss that fury without a second thought, or process any other emotions at the same time, she did the next best thing.

"Weiss..."

Bending down, she scooped up Yang's shorts and shoved them in her direction. "Please go. I need to get changed."

Staring at them for a moment, she was beginning to fear the worst. Was this really it? Were Yang's own insecurities in herself really to be the end of what her and Weiss had built up together? Arguing against it would only make it worse, so in the end, she looked down glumly, taking the shorts and getting up from the sofa to shove them back on. And once they were on, she headed straight for the door without another word.

As Weiss sat at her vanity, trying to take off her makeup, the salty tear tracks made it a lot easier. Somehow, that wasn't much comfort.

* * *

 

Little else was said between them on the bike journey home, no final "good night" before they both went to sleep. No spooning one another until tiredness got the better of them. Even if they were together, Yang had never felt so distant with her lover then she had in these few hours. There was nothing she could say, nothing she could do. She felt like anything would just make it worse.

As luck would have it, Penny's parents were both out that day, and had informed them that the home gym set up in the garage was free for them to use. The depressed bodyguard took the opportunity as soon as she could. Currently locked into battle with a punching bag, she tapped back and forth as she let out a few quick jabs with her hands.

Little did she expect she was about to gain an audience. The door was already open, but Weiss knocked on the jamb anyway. When Yang looked up, she ducked her head as if she had shouted at her already.

"Um… do you have a minute?"

Still feeling rather guilty from their night before, Yang immediately hunched her shoulders. But she nodded, stepping to one side to take off the gloves she wore for her training.

"Um…" Clearly, the bodyguard didn't want to speak to her any more than she had the night before. "I'll… just leave this here."

Her hands dragged the large package that Weiss had kept in her room out from behind the door, thumping it down the single step from the main house into the garage. Then she fidgeted with the waistband of her black yoga pants for a moment, nodded to herself, then turned to leave.

"Wait," she called out before she could run off. Staring at the package for a while, she tilted her head, not approaching just get. "What's this? I thought it was something for your show…"

"Just… something I got you." Her cheeks were flushed as she turned halfway around, displaying her profile for Yang. "It wasn't supposed to be an apology gift back when I bought it, but…"

"Weiss, just…" Already she was sighing in defeat, running one of her hands through her hair again. After a moments silence, she looked back up at her. "Just get in here. Please?"

Leaving the door open for an easy escape, Weiss walked into the room. She was still gazing down at the floor when she blurted out, "I'm sorry for overreacting. You were just trying to be honest about your feelings, and telling me that you had been hurt in the past, and I… made everything about me. As usual."

Yang paced idly for a moment, continuing to run her hand through her hair. The package had more or less been forgotten about, even if it was the reason she'd came into the room in the first place. "It's… my bad, too. By now, I should know how I feel, have it figured out… but I just don't yet. Pretty dumb."

"No, it isn’t." Weiss took a deep breath, let it out shakily. "I won't lie to you and say that makes me feel good, but I think I get it. Maybe I was too hasty with my feelings; you're my first serious relationship, ever! How should I know if this is… what I said it was on accident?!"

"I know, I shouldn't have… shouldn't have focused too much on one word, that was fucked up of me." Finally looking back over to her again, she took a deep breath in. "I'm sorry if I made you feel like I don't care about you. That’s never gonna be how it is."

Nodding again, Weiss simply accepted that for what it was without comment. Then she nudged the package. "I hope you like this. Maybe it's not what you would want, though – and if it isn't, I still have the receipt. Somewhere." Out the side of her mouth, she muttered, "Though now I never wanna go back there again..."

"I'm curious as fuck! This has been in the room so long I wanna see." Finally taking it into her hands, she began to tear away at the paper packaging, slowly revealing what was inside. At first, all she saw was the yellow dragon design, something that in her thoughts made her roll her eyes and think _'Of course, the Chinese thing'_ but then as more and more of it was revealed, she started to realise the shape.

Or moreover, she remembered what the shape meant. "This is a guitar case."

"Y-yeah," the nervous diva said, squirming more than Yang had ever seen her do, or at least as much as when they first realised they had feelings for each other. But she did walk a bit closer. "Not just a case, though."

When Weiss mentioned that, she only just seemed to realise the weight meant something was inside. "No fucking _way…"_

Straight after, she rested it on the ground, unclasping it fully and opening the case up. Sure enough, there was a brand new guitar. Gold, with black scorching on the edges, yellow coloured strings, and a selection of picks in one of the clear pockets of the casing. She wasn't dreaming, this was real.

"Oh my god," She muttered to herself, gradually picking it up to better inspect it, looking at it from all angles. "You… how did you do this? _When_ did you do this?"

"The day- oh, a few days ago." The last thing Weiss wanted to do was bring up the stalker now, especially with such a positive event as giving Yang her gift. Finally, she allowed herself to look up anxiously. "Do… you like it? Again, as I stated before, w-we can take it back and exchange it if you don't!"

 _"Like_ it? Weiss, I can't… Can't even begin to…" Holding a guitar in her hands was an odd feeling for Yang. And not just any guitar: _hers_. This wasn't like the guitar at the diner where she was only allowed to play once, this was completely her own now. Weiss had brought a hobby back to her that she thought out of reach because of her monetary woes of the past. That was invaluable.

The tear welling up in one of her eyes was enough of a hint for how she felt, as she looked back up again, saying quietly, "I love it. I can’t even… it’s so perfect."

Pursing her lips to avoid drawing attention to a particular word in that last sentence, Weiss put her hands on her hips as she paced closer. "Well? Try it out! We have to see if something's wrong with it or not, or we’ll be too far away and I'll have to figure out how to return it online, and that would be such a pain…"

"Alright alright, Miss Bossy." She rolled her eyes, pulling up a nearby stool to sit down on so she could rest the guitar on her lap. Taking the yellow pick, she strummed straight across all the strings. Already, it was far better quality than the diner's instrument. "Sounds good so far…"

Just as before, she played an alternate song first, quietly, to test the tuning of the strings. One really short version of 'Wonderwall' later, she looked back up at Weiss again with a smile. "So it's in tune, looks good, feels good… Any requests?"

"Well, Mr. Gallagher…" Weiss made a good show of pretending to think this question over. Then she smiled widely – more widely than the situation would seem to warrant. "How about… that little ditty you played in the diner? I want to hear it again."

"My song? It's really not that good… but, if you insist." She wasn't about to argue against it. Setting up on the stood, she adjusted her position to one far more comfortable, tapping her foot lightly in the slow rhythm of it. "One, two, three, four."

Then came the slow melody again. In contrast to the diner, this was relatively early in the morning. Too soon for slow, sleepy songs like Yang's. But it was what Weiss had requested, so play she did.

And on this brand new guitar, there was a quality that was completely absent in the diner. It sounded much better, so much more Yang. Now that she could hear it with a more critical ear, she could spot a few sections that could be improved by an engineer’s expertise – or a more practiced guitarist, for that matter. But the heart of the melody was sweet and earnest, and had a realness that a lot of radio listeners would latch onto very easily. For almost a minute, Weiss began to sway back and forth, eyes closing as she let it wash over her. Apparently, she really had been hoping to hear that song again, and was captivated by it now that she had this second opportunity to enjoy.

Then, out of nowhere, her lips parted and she began to sing in a muted voice, as if she weren’t even aware of it herself:

“ _Oh, changes come for you…”_

It nearly made Yang stop playing completely, but she kept going, with only one minor wrong note. Looking up from her guitar, she stared right out toward Weiss. She was singing. But not singing one of her songs, or any song she had heard of before. She was _adding_ the missing thing to Yang's song: lyrics.

Unnoticed by both of them, a small mop of brown-and-red hair was poking itself out from behind the door. Her silver eyes were wide and shining with glee, but she kept herself completely silent.

When the last strains of guitar ended and Weiss had only sung a scattered lyric or two, most of them mismatched and random, she opened her eyes and caught Yang staring. That was when she blushed and looked down. "Sorry."

"No!" For a moment she stopped playing, placing a hand on her cheek to get her looking up toward her again. "No, please, keep going! Like, I mean… if you have any more…" The blush on her own face was only growing. "You wrote those lyrics just for my song? For me?"

"N-not really," Weiss said, so self-consciously that it was almost like talking to a completely different girl. "After hearing you play that, I couldn't get it out of my head. So… so I’ve been kind of kicking around a line or two. Nothing concrete yet, but I do have…"

As she reached into her pocket, the little snoop on the other side of the doorway was whipping out her phone to add an entry to her blog: ‘ _You guys would NEVER believe what I'm experiencing right now!!!!!!!’_ Complete with an overabundance of exclamation points.

"I can't believe you wrote lyrics for it." Yang couldn't help but grin giddily. It wasn't just the fact it was a lover who was doing this, it was that it was _Weiss._ She had so much on her plate already, with practicing her own lyrics and touring, not to mention random attackers and relationship drama. For all that, and doing this in addition, it only further cemented that she was one of the world’s most incredible women.

But once Weiss got the scrap of paper out, she looked toward it, and then away. "In fact… you know what? Surprise me. We'll just ‘take two’, okay?"

"Oh! Yeah, of course we can. Just don’t say I didn’t warn you; they’re still kind of dumb." She cleared her throat a few times, then hummed deep in it – obviously warm-up exercises. As she did so, Yang put her fingers back to the strings, their spy gasped very quietly – and raised her phone so the back of it was pointing directly at both of them.

"Aaaand one, two, three, four-"

Yang's head was ducked low as she focused on her work with the strings, beginning the soft melody once more. Unlike last time, she continued to tap her foot to the same beat, using it as her way to keep to the right tempo.

Both of them continued to be blissfully unaware of their spy, Yang focused only on playing the song perfectly so Weiss could get singing to it. Neither noticing the very slight glint of a camera lens.

Which she did, after a couple of measures of the music on its own. Her mouth opened, and she lent it all the usual professionalism of her studio recordings, pitching her voice to be about the same volume as the guitar. To weave it into the music rather than overpower.

“ _When you’re, with me, every sky is grey_  
Because, you stole, the sun out of the day  
And I got, your heart, hidden in my hands  
Glowing, beating, because I understand

 _But it burns to hold you_  
Cause I can’t mold you, fold you  
Like a paper airplane to take me away  
Changes come  
For you and me, and we  
Changes come  
And some will set you free  
And some will drag you down  
Changes come for you  
Oh, changes come for you…”

All the while, Yang was smiling contently, never missing a beat, continuing to play the whole song flawlessly. As Weiss had observed, she knew the melody could use a little work, but it was solid enough to make Weiss’s vocals soar.

The more she played, the closer she listened to Weiss's lyrics. This was a lot different from Weiss's other songs, which were upbeat, joyous, about boys or love. But this was different; some of that was there, but that wasn’t the entire subject. This was about one's self, accepting yourself for who you were. It was the start of something new.

As her last lyric faded and she listened to Yang play a few final chords, Weiss looked up from her hastily-scrawled page of lyrics and simply gazed at the woman, eyes brimming with affection. She was so focused on her fretwork, at making sure she didn't miss a note… and the diva fell for her all over again. All she wanted was to throw the guitar out of her hands and pounce on her, but she suppressed that urge.

This was too sacred to interrupt.

Finally finishing up the song by playing a quick little arpeggio for fun, Yang looked up to the diva again, grinning giddily. It was as though their entire argument from the night before was forgotten, and they were straight back to where they were. Pulling the guitar strap over her head to put it down, she prepared to sit up and give her one of the biggest bear hugs of their lives.

But they never got quite that far. Outside, unknown to either of them, and currently to the spy, was the ginger haired girl. Innocently roaming the halls, she suddenly caught sight of the one who was spying into a partially opened door, and quickly approached her and tapped her back.

"What'cha doin?"

_"EEEEEP!"_

After such a screech, Ruby hastily thumbed her screen and whirled to hiss, _"Penny!_ D-don't _do_ that, wow, my heart is beating a million miles an hour!"

"Wh-what are you doing?!" a wide-eyed Weiss demanded, hastily stuffing the page into her pocket again. "How long have you two been standing there?!"

"I-I… Um…" Suddenly freezing up, Penny looked down to Ruby again. Obviously she was trying to avoid getting caught, which seemed to have failed thanks to her. The least she could do was grin innocently an d try to play along. "J-just now! We just heard you giggling and we… we were curious!" A little hiccup punctuated the end of her sentence.

"R-right!" Ruby said with a nervous laugh. She probably would have come clean and begged for forgiveness, but Penny had already concocted this excuse, so she went along with it. "But um, I could hear the music, and just… got curious! Sorry!"

"Oh," Weiss replied, her cheeks rosy. "Um…"

She glanced at Yang, as if inquiring how they should handle this situation, but her own cheeks were turning just as red. This apparently meant that Penny knew the two were together, even though Ruby was the only one that knew for sure.

"Hey wait… If Ruby just got there, why was she squealing?"

"Um…" Penny first hummed, looking between both Ruby and Weiss. But before she even responded with a proper answer, she quickly tugged at Ruby's hood, pulling her back away from the door with her, choosing to leave that question unanswered rather than make it worse.

"BUT…" Sighing, Weiss slumped in defeat. Seemed the two younger girls were going to continue being cryptic for the time being – and they were alone for the moment, which was somewhat of a relief. "What has gotten into them?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Yang simply pulled Weiss in for the overdue hug, gently rubbing her arms as she settled into her lap, even nuzzling her head against her slightly.

"That song…" she began, speaking rather quietly and earnestly. "What was it about? I mean, I think I know, but I want to hear from the source."

It took Weiss a few seconds to work up the courage to tell her. "You. And me, and things about us. The 'I can't mould you' part was you having to be who you are, and… I mean, when I wrote it, I was just thinking about you being trans, but I also can't force you to change your feelings for me just because I'm upset. So… so yeah." She fell silent without having truly finished her thoughts.

"It's… incredible. Thank you." She smiled yet again, hugging her closely again and pressing a kiss on her cheek. Things really seemed to be back to normal now, even if they still had a thing or two to sort out.

"My pleasure," she breathed with a soft smile. "Really… I'm so happy you don't hate it; there's a lot of work left to do, some of the lyrics are kind of weak… and there's no second verse or anything! Plus you could use a producer to tweak the melody and arrangements, just a little. But that’s only window dressing."

"Cool. Um… I think – if you're comfortable with it, of course – that you should make the second verse about you." When Weiss looked confused, she continued, "You've had so much to deal with, pressure from your dad… like this cage you gotta break free from. You should make it about that, about how you were strong enough to fight for what you want."

"But I'm not," she snorted, without any real pain or conviction. Merely acceptance. "Do you see me really standing up to my father or anything? No. I just keep doing what I'm supposed to do."

"Are you kidding me? Just look at the steps you've taken this past month. You found out who I was, but you didn't do what your father would have wanted you to do, you didn't just mock me or make me a laughing stock. You accepted me! You educated yourself and made your own choice."

“That’s what any decent-”

"And then you let yourself hook up with me. Even if he doesn't know, so what? You know how huge of a step that is? You're deciding for yourself what to do with your life, you're not letting his old school way of thinking tell you how to live. You're being brave enough to be _you._ And if that's not gutsy, then I don't know what is."

Weiss took all that in, mulled it over. Yang had some good points; even though she personally was underwhelmed by the steps she had taken, it was true that she could have been more of a coward and fired Yang because she was uncomfortable with their sexual tension – or with her gender situation, once that came to light. Instead, she confronted it, chose to let Yang show her who she was instead of deciding it beforehand… and was rewarded with an incredible relationships with one of the most inspiring people she’d ever had the privilege of meeting.

"Yang…" She was misting up, but she buried her face in the blonde's shoulder to hide that. "Thank you. For… helping me open my eyes to see things the right way."

"Well, right now they're closed against my shoulder…" Making some snarky comment like that was far too easy, but nonetheless, Weiss's gratitude was felt, shown when she simply rubbed her girlfriend's arm again, keeping her close to her body.

As they relaxed in one another's arms longer and longer, Yang began to question her feelings all over again. Weiss was special, that was undeniable. Much like the song they had almost _accidentally_ collaborated on together, Weiss did something very important for Yang. She completed her. It didn't matter how much she denied it, or refused to say it; it was a fact.

Sooner or later, she would have to accept that fact, and tell Weiss that she loved her. And it really ought to be sooner.

* * *

 

However, someone else was doing a lot worse at accepting facts. She was currently hunched over a computer, typing search strings into databases she had no business accessing; one of her private investigator friends had loaned her all of the necessary credentials to use them.

"Let's see, Xiao Long," Winter Schnee was muttering under her breath, bumping her cardboard cup of coffee as she navigated the pages with her mouse. "What's really in your past? What are you so determined to hide from my family? I swear, if you're just some annoying undercover paparazzo…"

Xiao Long seemed to yield many distinct results in the business database. A few Chinese take-out places, one mechanical firm and a hairdresser of all things but nothing incriminating. Adding 'Yang' to it once again and searching said database did nothing at all either, just showed a few women with the same name, one being Yang herself. Just as last time, it was a brick wall as soon as she went back two years. Criminal records and everything were clean as a whistle.

So what about the other name? "Ying". What was the point of changing one letter if it wasn't to disguise anything against the law? Thankfully, Ying Xiao Long wasn't a very popular name, and only yielded a handful of results over the US. The first, age 56; an obvious cold lead. The second, recently deceased; again, a no go.

Five results in, and there seemed to be an odd trend. All were male. The sixth result in, anyone else would have given up, but for the persistent elder Schnee sister, her snooping paid off. This one seemed to have a lead.

Age, 21; college and education, both in Nashville. Job History, Junior’s Bar. That matched one of Yang's references Mr Schnee had checked upon hiring her. This had to be the one. So why the sudden cut off? What did they have to do with each other?

"Nothing past age 21," she muttered, sitting back to think for a moment. "I don't… and the listing is male. Maybe she stole his identity from Junior’s?" Again, she tried to utilize the criminal records; there was nothing for that selfsame Ying except a single speeding ticket, paid in full with no court appearance or anything. Neither of them had a sordid past, which was unsatisfying.

What was it her detective friend had told her again? "If you can't find it in the official records, look in the trash." Of course. Where did everyone put all the information of their locations and birth dates and daily lives willingly? Social Media. Facebook.

Firstly, she tried "Yang Xiao Long" before anything. It never hurt to do things twice. And the main profile that came up did seem to be her own, with the profile picture being a rather self-confident shot of her blowing a kiss toward the camera. It was almost as though she was subconsciously mocking Winter with the lack of progress. Again, like anything else with this name, the cut-off date was two years ago, and most of the information was set to private anyway. Even the profile was only two years old.

Now for "Ying Xiao Long."

That brought up a profile which was far older, but featured only a yellow, custom body motorcycle as the profile picture. The only advantage of this one was that everything was public. Presumably, this account was made before the privacy settings were introduced. The latest status, posted five days before the creation date of the Yang profile, was particularly sketchy however.

"It's times like these when you find out who your true friends really are. I hate having to leave everything behind, but I feel like I have no choice. I'm abandoning this account for very personal reasons. Those who are important to me will get an add from my new one. Time to make a clean slate again x"

The possibility was ludicrous. Yang and Ying couldn't be the same person - even though that's what Yang had told her. Stranger things had happened, but there was no _way_ the admittedly gorgeous woman she'd met could really be a man…

 _Was_ there? Undeterred, Winter leaned forward and turned to the older profile pictures; something that had been left untouched before the account became ignored.

In the albums added by whoever owned the profile, there were only pictures of the same bike, pictures of a grey and white Corgi, and various internet memes. This person was obviously camera shy it seemed, aside from the odd picture of them on the bike. But even then, a helmet and leathers covered their identity. Only one picture added by the owner seemed to show a person, and that result was… vague.

An unidentified person stood in front of the mirror with long hair, a tank top and shorts. It seemed like Yang, but so much wasn't quite right. The hair for a start seemed to be too shiny, like it was synthetic. Nor did it have the same volume as the Yang she knew had. In addition, what was Yang's rather hefty bust seemed to be far smaller, and perhaps not quite in the right position. But also, the bare arms; they were bulkier, more masculine. It almost was Yang, but at the same time, it wasn't. Maybe they were twins?

The side bore a description: _"Blake is the best girlfriend ever < 3"_ Underneath were the comments – and quite a lot of them, at that, each with varying approval.

_"Woah, okay… this is a bit of a shock, but I think I like it! Good for you!"_

_"Hey if you dress like that you can get into the chick's bathroom next time we hit the town buddy!"_

_"Looks good. You planning a drag act or something?"_

_"What the actual fuck dude?"_

Winter found herself quite confused. Either Yang had somehow undertaken a _phenomenal_ transformation into a woman, one that she personally thought would be completely impossible, or she had a twin brother who liked to dress in women’s clothing. Either possibility curdled her stomach.

However, one comment that mirrored her own secret thoughts made her feel slightly ashamed of them: _“This is disgusting. Men dressing up like women is disgusting. I hope you go out like that and get shot.”_

That was a little extreme, wasn’t it? There was no reason that any man should want to wear makeup and wigs and flounce around in a dress, of course, but there was no sense in saying they should _die_ for such silliness. What an overreaction! But the woman shook out her head to rid herself of these deeper thoughts and scrolled on.

Then on to the tagged photos. Even if 'Ying' was camera-shy, the people around her – or him, whichever – certainly were not. All the photos in this album featured a man who was rather lean, average in height, with rather short blonde hair. If her second thought was correct, then this person certainly seemed to match up the description. He looked a lot like Yang did, even down to the exact same hair colour. More photos in started to feature the same few people. There was another girl who looked a tiny bit like her; far shorter, with brown hair rather than blonde, that seemed to wear a lot of hoods and hold the same grey and white dog a lot – eventually glasses completed her look. Then a girl with long black hair who appeared in these photos, and seemed to be _very_ close to Ying.

One final photo resolved everything. One of Ying, and this mysterious black-haired woman. It seemed to be taken by her, even though she was leaning in to press a kiss to his cheek as he grinned giddily into the camera. But the face was all Winter needed to see to put things together. The eyes were exactly the same as Yang's, just as everything else about the face was. Not even identical twins would be this similar.

Ying and Yang were the same person. That miraculous transformation she had dismissed was reality.

"No _way,"_ she breathed, eyes inches from the screen as she examined the mounting evidence. That was why she had no past before two years ago – up until that point, she had been a _he._ Might still be one, under the long hair and stuffed bra! How would she have any way of knowing?

Then the worst possibility came to her: this man, this Ying Xiao Long, could have concocted this entire scheme purely to get close to her baby sister. It was far-fetched, of course, but what if he did? That couldn't be allowed to happen. No man was going to be sleeping in Weiss's tour bus unsupervised – especially not one that thought it was acceptable to “try on” another gender to accomplish this revolting goal. Not on _her_ watch.

"Miss Schnee?"

At the door was a shorter dark skinned woman with black hair. Another one of her father's employees, but also one of Weiss's key agents.

“Can’t you see that I’m _incredibly_ busy?!”

She bowed her head slightly when the woman at least acknowledged her presence, before holding up her own notebook. "I'm very sorry to disturb you, miss, but I had the most fantastic phone call come through!"

Biting back the comment she was about to make, Winter forced herself to simply change her screen to show only the desktop image of a peaceful beach scene. "Very well. What phone call?"

"I was just on with the manager of the California Beach Fest that's gonna be happening at the end of August, the one where Neptune, Neon, _all_ the big stars are headlining. They saw her show in Chicago and how great she was with another star – and were so impressed that they want to add her to the lineup! She might even _headline!_ Isn't that fantastic?!" She was already grinning with joy, oblivious as to what Winter was doing prior to her entrance.

“That’s… good. Very good news, yes.”

The stiff reaction wrongfooted the girl. All she could do was look down to her notepad again and clear her throat. "Well, I can't get Mr Schnee on the line to ask him right now, so I wondered if you could ask him if she’s available? I'll also ask her, of course; I think I have her bodyguard's details so I'm sure I can get her through them."

"Oh, no need, Ciel," Winter assured her offhandedly, forcing a professional smile. "You keep trying to follow up with Father, and I'll contact Weiss and… that bodyguard of hers. There are arrangements to be made if we're making such an exciting event happen!"

"That there are! This will be such a stepping stone for her career, don't you think? Maybe it'll lead to a platinum record at last!" Raising her phone to her ear to try Mr Schnee again, she waited by the door for a moment, quickly mentioning before leaving. "There's only a couple of weeks left of the tour, right? I suppose we could go through this with Weiss when she returns."

“Hmm? Oh, yes, of course. That will be all."

The minute the door slid shut, Winter began to pace back and forth, glancing at the computer screen that had given her all the information she needed every so often. Yes, she could confront Weiss with her newfound knowledge, but that had never yielded great results. She just got defensive and brushed her off. No, there had to be another way…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah, NBW did write those song lyrics. "Changes Come For You" is copyrighted to NaughtyButWeiss. (Not that anyone will ever care lmao) For the music just think of some kinda moody acoustic thing from the Life Is Strange soundtrack I guess. 
> 
> And we're sorry again about the long random waits, but we have been trying to keep them to a minimum. It was difficult during Camp NaNoWriMo (during which NBW worked on another fanfic that you will see eventually UwU). Should be smoother sailing now!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THIS CHAPTER: anal discussion, handcuffs, roleplay, fellatio, anal fingering, dirty talk, facial, fingering.

**=Chapter 17**

A couple of shows later and the first ever official Weiss North American tour was over. The final show was in the papers the following day, with tremendous ratings from even the harshest of critics. She was officially now one of the bigger rising stars in the US. And that was even _without_ the knowledge of her very special invite that awaited her when she got back.

The final days would not have been so great if not for their temporary accommodation and the company. Having to skulk around the bus knowing that employee had so easily slithered inside was too creepy for either of them, but even moreso Weiss. After their awkward moment of interrupting Yang's song, the girls all hit the city together, seeing the sights, going shopping and ending it with a meal at a nice restaurant. It was the perfect way for Weiss to forget all about the intruder, _and_ about any other looming worries.

Another thing that helped was Weiss and Yang being left alone in the house the following day. Penny and Ruby had already arranged to be elsewhere with some of Penny's friends, while Ironwood and Ozpin were both at work. Taking full advantage of a quiet house and the spare room, Yang and Weiss certainly had no worries of a squeaky bed or loud voices exposing them. If anything, Yang found it difficult to believe they'd used her entire ‘emergency supply’ of protection in a few paltry days!

Still, all good things must come to an end. After a heartfelt goodbye the next day, exchanging numbers and Facebook profiles between all of the girls, Yang and Weiss were finally on their way back to Nashville. They'd had a few small pit stops for food, one for Yang to pick up more of an 'emergency supply', and one for Weiss's urge for Starbucks coffee; but they were nearing their halfway point at Roanoke. At which point, Yang was rather bored, laying sprawled out in the sofa with her phone in her hands, playing the same game she had been the past hour.

"Well… Seven more hours of this…"

"Sorry I'm such terrible company," Weiss joked. However, she was also nose-deep in a magazine, so she was no better. "What are you so engrossed with on your phone, anyway?"

"Oh, this shitty little game called 'Smashy Road', nothing really. Just gonna check my Facebook though." Continuing to click away between apps and various things, she did glance over to Weiss's magazine. Of course, it was filled with gossip of the latest celebs, what else for a diva like her? "Checking up on the competition I see?"

"Perhaps," Weiss said airily as she flipped through the pages. "Really, I just got tired of scrolling through my phone and updating Snapchat with yet _another_ video of boring highways and boring trees. What's Smashy Thing about?"

"Oh, you're a little car and you just gotta stay away from the police as long as possible and collect the little dollars scattered around the world. Just a time-killer really."

Scrolling through her timeline, she couldn't help but smile to herself when she noticed a new addition on her feed. Weiss's personal account. They didn't add one another before in case of Weiss's family noticing, as part of a mutual decision, but in the end, Weiss had decided that she no longer cared – they didn’t have to list themselves as “In A Relationship” with each other, after all. Coworkers could be friends; it was allowed. It was progression toward her slowly standing up to her father perhaps, one that Yang was proud of her for.

Still, pretending not to be as giddy about that as she was, she looked to her sister's post instead. "Aww, Ruby says she had a great time and is really missing us. And hey, she tagged it as ‘Friends Only’ and didn’t mention you by name! She’s doing so good with this."

"I miss her, too," Weiss half-laughed. "We'll have to have her down to Nashville over the summer." Then she allowed her voice to become slightly more suggestive as she added, "If she's not too busy with _Pennyyyyyyyy."_

Yang rolled her eyes. "I already told you, Ruby and Penny don't do that stuff. Penny's asexual, and Ruby's cool with that. Just because you and I spent a whole day bangin' like bunnies doesn't mean they will be."

"What does that mean, anyway? Asexual – how can you be completely asexual? She was born with sex organs, wasn't she? And even if she is, it seems to me like she should at least help Ruby out if she doesn't want anything done for herself."

"That's like me saying you should at least get me off when you're not in the mood," she tried to explain, leaning back even further into the sofa to look toward her. She knew Weiss was new to anything that wasn’t completely ‘cishet’ so she didn’t get mad when she said something a little ignorant anymore. "She's just not attracted to anyone sexually, that's all. Doesn't mean she doesn't like cuddling and kissing, that kinda stuff."

Weiss nodded for a few seconds, thinking about that. Rifled the pages of her magazine. Then she cleared her throat and said, “Actually… I probably would still get you off if I wasn’t in the mood.”

"Well even if you would, Penny doesn't have to if she’s not down. That’s between them to decide if Penny’s okay with helping her out; she doesn’t ‘owe’ her anything."

The white-blondes head snapped up, blue eyes wide. "Oh, of course not! I would never say Ruby would make _demands_ – and if you ever tried to force me to do something, then we both know I wouldn't hesitate to kick you somewhere that would stop you from going further!" Scoffing, she looked back down to her magazine as she went on. "However… I mean, it's something Penny should at least _consider_ doing to make her girlfriend happy, isn’t it? Like, anytime you asked me, unless I was busy with work or completely exhausted, I'd do whatever you wanted – especially now that I know how good an orgasm feels. If I can do that for you? That's a privilege, not a chore."

Yang tilted her head a little. "Okay, I kinda get what you’re trying to say. Plus I’m flattered. Those two probably have considered all this, though. _Way_ more than we are right now. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter as long as they're both happy. Besides, Ruby still doesn't know if she's the same as Penny or not in that respect since she’s still got her V-card."

"I suppose that's a good point, too. They'll have to see where they end up together." Then she looked up at Yang. "But I like having an arrangement where either of us could come to the other and say, 'Hey, if you're not busy I really need you to make me scream right now,' and the other person just… rolls up their sleeves and goes to work, no questions asked."

"It certainly kept us busy yesterday." Yang started to smirk, returning her cell phone to her pocket so she could give full attention to the conversation. "And ‘screaming’ was putting it lightly for you, I'm honestly surprised the neighbours didn't call the cops or something."

A small smile played across Weiss's lips, and she laid the magazine aside – as if she had finished with it independently of their conversation, rather than so she could focus her blue eyes on Yang. "I am a vocalist who just finished a sold-out tour. What did you expect? Quiet squeaking?"

"Definitely not buying more condoms on the way home! Seriously, I had at least six in there when we left Nashville and never expected to meet… well, anybody at all." But now that she had noticed Weiss was paying far more attention, she asked, "So… which of our… _moments of madness_ did you enjoy most yesterday?"

"Well…" Now she was blushing at being forced to mentally review their escapades. "The second time, when you had one of my legs up over your shoulder… _that_ was, um, new."

Even through a confident smirk, Yang was having a hard time keeping her blush back, staring upward toward the ceiling, trying to recall the memory. "Hmm… I think that's when you were loudest, anyway; should've guessed."

"Shut up!" she half-laughed, folding her arms across her chest. "Hey, what about you? All I had to do was smack you on the behind that one time and you started making what almost sounded like _horse noises!_ I didn't know if I did a good thing or a bad thing!"

"Well I wasn't expecting that while I was ramming you, was I?! You caught me off guard!" Now it was impossible to hold back, the red blush becoming more obvious than ever on her face.

A blush Weiss noticed. She'd actually been trying to figure something out for quite some time, and every little piece helped her complete the puzzle. Still, there was only one way she was ever going to see the full picture.

"But you liked it," she remarked as if it was a fact that was understood between them. "I could tell; you didn't look even slightly unhappy about it, just surprised."

Now folding her own arms, she tried her best to continue acting confident in the midst of her girlfriend's teasing, even if it was useless. "I told you before. I like stuff with my butt, even just a little smack. Don’t kinkshame."

At first, she only nodded in response. Then she began to snort, which gave way to full-on laughter. After a few seconds, she looked up with watery eyes and shrieked, "So you're a… _butt slut!"_

Hunching her shoulders more and more, Yang looked back and forth between her and the ceiling. She could never keep eye contact for a long period of time without her face ending up looking like some kind of tomato.

"I… Well that’s… I…. Shut up!"

Still giggling, she finally crossed to sit on the couch with her girlfriend, bumping their shoulders together. "Okay, okay. I won't tease you about it. Or I will, but I'll stop for now." Then she leaned up and kissed Yang's cheek. "For the record, you do have a very nice butt."

"Thank you," she muttered rather quietly as her shoulders remained upright. "Coming from you, that means a lot – even if other people have let me know before, too."

"Who are these people? Do I get to glare at them menacingly?" Her arms wrapped around Yang's bicep. "They don't get to hit on my girlfriend!"

Finally relaxing her shoulders, she started to smile again, letting out a humoured hum as she looked upward to try and recall. "Well, you'll have to track down Scarlet, then a few people I met in clubs and bars…" Though then she started to cringe, even if it was in jest. "Wow okay, when I put it like that, I really do sound like a butt-slut, huh?"

"That's not that many people to… wait, are we talking about people who have _complimented_ your butt, or… or, um…"

Weiss fell silent, because the question she was asking suddenly seemed extremely presumptuous of her. Holding her hands together and twiddling her thumbs, Yang fell silent for a moment. Of course, Weiss already knew how she felt about that. She'd admitted, while half asleep, that she really enjoyed having a presence back there. But while Weiss might remember that confession, Yang did not.

"I guess I'm talking about flings now. Sorry, you probably don't wanna hear about those."

"N-no, no pressure," Weiss told her with a nervous laugh, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear as she freed one arm. The other remained loosely draped around her girlfriend's, though. "You don't have to get into your past; I mean, unless you want to."

"Well… that depends." Continuing to blush red raw, she stared upward away from Weiss. "I mean… unless you're iffy about that stuff, I guess I could go into a little more detail? But that's only if you ever wanted to… you know. But I can’t imagine you’d want to. Like, you don’t even have a dick! So what would be the-"

"Tell me." Now she was too curious to beat around the bush. Yang liked someone playing with her caboose _a lot_ and just didn't want to come right out and say as much. "Like, how does it usually start?"

Even if the blonde was nervous about admitting such things, Weiss was no longer just some girl she hooked up with. This was her _girlfriend_. She was going to find out she liked that kind of treatment some time, why not now?

"Same as anything else, I guess. Some kissing, groping, get each other in the mood… but there's a lot more preparation. You can't just barge in, you know?"

"I honestly don't. How do you prepare for that? I mean, I've heard things, but that could be a bunch of bull." Her knowledge about sex would fit on the back of a shampoo bottle.

"You gotta… sorry, this might be gross." No more stepping cautiously around the subject looking for different words, might as well say it. "You gotta lube up, get it wet. Both me and whatever you're gonna put in there. Most of the time, that action alone, poking around with tonnes of lube on your finger is enough to get me rarin’ to go."

A tingle shot through Weiss's stomach, one that started making its way further down. She had at least googled anal sex, and read one or two things… before panicking and closing the browser. But there was only so much she could google, and it would never compare with a real life accounting from someone she trusted.

"So lube it up. Is there any limit to how big something can be in there? I mean…" She squirmed, and more than a little. "Going in the opposite direction… yeah, I'm sorry for bringing that up already."

"Depends on the person, some people can handle big, others can only handle a little. I… Uh…." Sensing Weiss was awaiting her answer as to what she could handle, she looked downward toward the floor to hide her shame. "I’ve taken some pretty decent sized ones… and the bigger, the better, most days."

Even Weiss felt herself blushing on behalf of Yang for admitting that. "Hey, that's okay! Nobody says you can't like big ones!" Then she leaned over and kissed her cheek again, hand on Yang's thigh to steady herself. "I'm not judging you for this, I promise. It's just… something I never thought about before, and I like learning more about you. But if you want me to shut up, by all means say something."

"I dunno, I guess… Not a lot of people admit they like stuff there, especially not people that… have what I have, you know? A lot of ‘that’s so gay’ locker room talk. Actual gay guys and girls like me are more open to it, but straight guys? Nah."

But as their conversation continued, said item was growing in her trousers. Talking about such things was getting her ready all too soon. But still, as she shuffled her position, she continued, "But god it feels good."

“I'm going to have to take your word for it," Weiss scoffed. "I don't really think I'm down with having that part of me explored; just literally never thought about using it for anything besides its usual purpose." But as she said this, she began to feel Yang shifting back and forth in her seat. It was a familiar antsiness, and she automatically began to caress her thigh. "But who knows? Never say never, and so on."

"You'd be surprised how many girls like that kinda stuff. Even cis girls. It's definitely an… experience…." Catching Weiss caressing her thigh, so close to her ever growing bulge, she looked down timidly, asking, "What are you doing?"

“Hm? Oh, sorry, I was just…” But when she followed Yang’s line of sight, she noticed the bulge, as well. Until that point, she hadn't thought Yang was truly "awake"; just in the preliminary stages. This was beginning to look about halfway to ready for…

"Apparently, I'm doing something right," Weiss teased lightly. However, she didn't reach for it just yet. Instead, she simply kept petting along her thigh, enjoying the calm moment and all the potential for excitement that was buzzing beneath the veneer of serenity.

"You always do," Yang couldn't help but whisper. It was always an odd tenseness when things began this way. Weiss would notice Yang was hard before she would bring it up, and either ignore it if she wasn't in the mood, or touch and tease it if she wanted to do something about it. That was how their relationship seemed to be, with her instigating it most days.

Still, her blonde bruiser girlfriend sighed in pleasure, simply parting her legs that little bit more as Weiss continued to pet her thighs. The minute she felt those thighs open, Weiss moved a hand in to cup Yang very lightly. "Lao seems to agree," she breathed, moving her hand in a slow, very light circle.

Looking to where Weiss's hand was moving, she sighed again in contentment, unable to help herself growling lowly. This was insane, how could someone like Weiss so easily awaken her, even after being awake for so long the day prior?

Seeing that Yang was responding, Weiss leaned up and kissed her jawline; it was easier to reach than her cheek, and she wanted to be gentler, more intimate. To show her girlfriend that she was a girlfriend, and not a mere object of fascination.

When she felt Yang was completely at the ready, or near enough, she whispered, "Hey, I have an idea… earlier, I noticed something that I thought could come in handy. Follow me to the bedroom?"

She'd lost all power of speech. All she could do was nod slowly, standing in unison with her girlfriend. She eagerly followed without question, not even bothering to look back at the driver door this time. Either she had become used to knowing no one would come in, or she was just beyond caring. But no matter; going right to the very back and being behind another door was enough to put her at ease.

"Okay," she began as she pushed the door shut, turning to face the taller girl again. "You see this handle mounted to the ceiling? It's… well, I'm short, but I can still reach. It's an 'oh Jesus' handle - as in, 'oh Jesus, we're driving down a bumpy road and I don't want to fall over.' Can you reach it to hang onto it pretty easily?"

"Well if you can, I can. Duh." Right away she reached to grasp it, a simple enough task. But when looking back down to her from that handle, she tilted her head. "Is that seriously all you wanted to show me? Thrills a plenty with the Weiss tour."

"Oh, hush. Can you hang onto it with both hands? It's pretty… long." Indeed, it was a bar about two feet long, bolted to the ceiling at either end. However, Weiss's eyes glanced down toward Yang's waist as she spoke the last word.

Confused, Yang did as she was asked, easily grasping the handle with both hands either side. There wasn't any need for tiptoes with her, she was more than tall enough. But seeming to get the wrong end of things, she smirked. "You know, if you wanted to watch me do pull ups, all you had to do was ask."

"Pull-ups… maybe I _WILL!"_

This shout was accompanied by more than a smirk from Weiss. She also jumped up to grab Yang's wrist - or so it first seemed. There was the sensation of something slightly cooler wrapping around the skin of one wrist. Then Weiss's hand grazed one of hers before another sensation of cold plastic encircled the other wrist to match. Before she could realise what happened, she looked up to where Weiss had held her hands, only to find she hadn't at all. She'd put something around them instead: _handcuffs._

"What the-?!" Even though they were plastic, the mere idea had caught Yang by surprise, shown as she tried to pull her hands away, but to no avail; the chain was wrapped around the bar, keeping them restrained above her head. "Where did you even get those?!"

"Silence!" Weiss said walking back in front of Yang and folding her arms triumphantly. Her voice was different from usual; a bit more… theatrical. "You are now my prisoner, you brute! And…" Looking around for a moment, she seemed to improvise: "And you will tell me where the rebel base is, or else!"

Holding onto the bar instead for a bit of extra support she looked back down to her 'captor'. So they were roleplaying? Was that what she wanted? It could be fun, to keep it all fresh and mixed up. Playing along, Yang scowled at her.

"I'll never give in, you can't make me!"

Of course, it was hard to remain stony-faced when Weiss took a moment to giggle into her hands like an excited five-year-old. But then she cleared her throat and began to pace back and forth with her hands at her hips.

"Oh, can't I? We have ways of making you talk!" Striding right up to her, she didn't stop until they were nose to nose. "Lots of ways."

Having to look down to face her, she couldn't help but join in as well with the giggling. There was one factor that Yang had to point out that simply didn't make the intimidation work.

"You're so tiny."

At that comment, both of Weiss's eyebrows shot up in indignation. "That's so rude! You're not supposed t-" Stifling the rest of her outburst, she reached down and grasped Yang around her cock; it was still semi-hard, despite all the distractions. "Well, _you_ aren't tiny!"

 _"Hggg!"_ Grasping at the bar a little tighter, she couldn't help but bring her legs together firmly. It acted into part of the role, but was also an instinctive reaction when suddenly felt up like that. Still, she did enjoy the stimulation, that was obvious by the blush. "W-what are you gonna do?"

"It's really very simple," she told Yang in a seductive voice. "Either you tell me what I want to know, or…" Her voice dropped nearly an octave as she leaned in, gripping Yang even harder. "I'll do whatever I want to you."

Growling both played into their game and expressed her feelings of the situation. She wanted Weiss to do as she pleased, but didn't want to show it. No, that would ruin their ‘game’. Holding back her smirk, she narrowed her eyes. "You're bluffing."

One pale index finger poked into the centre of Yang's chest. "Oh, AM I?!" Then she trailed her fingers back down to grip the hem of her tank top and jerked it upward, revealing Yang's flawless bosom. Even if it was covered with a bra, Yang still gasped when she was suddenly revealed to her, trying to bring her arms inward as if it would help somehow. It did not. All she could do was wait eagerly for the next move, even if she struggled against it.

"You fiend!"

With a mock-sinister smile in place, Weiss unhooked the bra, then began to push both garments up and behind Yang's head. There was no easy way to take them off while she was handcuffed, but she could at least force them out of the way.

"Oh, you'll wish you talked when I'm through," Weiss told her as she moved their faces close together again.

Now her breasts were exposed. But still, her legs never parted, she would have to work for that benefit. The occasional draft of cool air on her bare skin sent a shiver down her spine.

"You… won't… ever make me!" she continued to 'protest', bracing herself as she tensed her hands on the bar.

"We'll see about that." Then she paced around Yang, her steps slow, catlike. Once squeezed in behind her form, she reared back a hand and slapped Yang's hindquarters through the soft grey shorts that covered her remaining modesty.

 _"Oh!"_ she called out, tensing her cheeks together once the first slap hit. It wasn't something she experienced much before, but it felt good… very good even. Looking down toward the floor, she had to try and contain her chuckling, using it to play the character better. "See? Nothing. This is useless."

"Maybe I just… haven't hit hard enough!" Again, the hand came down – this time on the other cheek, and with a little more force than before. They still weren't strikes meant to actually harm.

Yet again, Yang called out, flinching slightly as her rear was assaulted. That _did_ feel good. Excellent even. But continuing to clench her muscles she attempted to look toward her, still with that confident smirk. "You call that a hit? My grandma could hit worse!"

Though Yang could not see it, Weiss actually brought up her foot to kick her posterior, but she decided that was overkill. Besides, it would have been a little harder to accomplish in the tight confines of the mobile restroom. Instead, she merely grabbed the cheek and clenched her fingers against it – hard.

Now _that_ was enough to shift the smirk from her face. Having to wince, she bent her knees slightly to try and force her body away from the grasping hand, to no avail at all. Weiss really did have her with no means of escape here. Satisfied with that response, she began to pace back around to Yang's front, arms now crossed casually in front of her chest and wearing a smug smile.

"So… are you sure you don't want to tell me where the base is? I can get a lot more creative with my methods."

Glaring back toward her, she finally released the bar above, starting to pull very slightly on the cuffs to play into the act. She felt they were only plastic, and could easily be taken care of if she needed to be free. But for now, it was all in good fun.

"You're gonna have to then, ‘cause my mouth is staying shut, Evil Overlord Schnee." Why not?

"Oh really?!" Weiss reached down and, perhaps out of other ideas, actually flicked Yang's erection rather hard with her middle finger. "How about now?!"

Yang yelped out in surprise, quickly trying to cross her legs over again. It didn't hurt at all, not like she expected it would have, but it was certainly a shock to be flicked right on her length rather firmly!

Of course, Weiss was totally confused that Yang didn't seem bothered by the action, didn't act as if it bothered her. In fact… she seemed to not mind.

"We can do that again!" she snapped. Still no response. Therefore, she flicked it again from the opposite direction – she had to test how this made Yang feel.

This time, Yang had bit her lip to suppress the extra yelp that came from her mouth. Why did such a thing feel oddly pleasant? A sudden tingling out of nowhere. Surely she was still feeling things down there correctly, wasn't she? But she continued to play up, struggling against the cuffs that bit more as Weiss continued their 'torture'.

"Alright, this can't be right," Weiss finally muttered to herself as she grasped the girth. "You're hard as a rock and acting like that didn't hurt at all, or even sting or anything!" Then her voice lowered and she added in a conspiratorial tone, "Not that I really wanted to hurt you that much; I figured a flick would be okay. But seriously, no pain at all?"

Gritting her teeth together again as Weiss grasped the girth, she tried to resist the urge to speak. It just didn't suit the role. But when asked about the pain, she finally started to smirk again. "I guess you underestimated me."

"Well, if you're sure…" Clearing her throat to signal she was stepping back into her role, she drew back and said, "Very well! Since that doesn't work on you… we'll just have to try something else!"

Without further delay, she grasped the waistband of the shorts and jerked them down to around Yang's knees, dragging the underwear with them.

Now that did make Yang yelp out again, completely against her wishes. Now she was completely exposed! Thanks to the length already being hard from before, it bobbed slightly now that it was free from her trousers, practically asking for it to be touched. And there wasn't a thing its owner could do to stop it.

Standing back to observe her handiwork for a moment, Weiss couldn't help herself; she licked her lips at the sight of the erect cock. Completely involuntary. Why did she have to like it so much? Then dragging her eyes up, she smirked again as one of her fingertips pushed down onto the head.

"You're sure you won't talk?"

This time, their eyes met. Even though the violet ones of the prisoner were glaring, they were also filled with desire and lust. Oh she wanted this, she really wanted this more than she could begin to describe. But how could she put that across to Weiss without destroying her role? Then again, Weiss wanted it just as much. She always did. Confident enough she'd continue, she narrowed her eyes.

"You wouldn't…"

The fingertip pressed down harder and harder, until it finally slipped off, allowing the rigid length to bob up and down. Her eyes did flick down toward it briefly to watch it move, but then pulled right back up to look into Yang's again.

Which were only narrowing even more, mainly in response to holding back her own blush, her own feelings. How much she wished she could just whisper 'take me' to her, be brisked away by her diva's actions. But she would be good for her, for now. And so just held onto the bar above once more.

Unable to resist any longer, Weiss began to slide her hands down Yang's sides as she knelt before her, bringing her favourite toy directly in front of her face. The strong, rich scent began to fill her up as she breathed heavily, and it took all her willpower not to turn into a whimpering slave at Yang's feet again. God, she loved pleasing Yang that way! But Weiss did have willpower; she was strong and she knew how to use that strength when necessary.

Instead, she simply opened her mouth quite wide, took the head between her lips with barely a hair's breadth to spare between… and then allowed her teeth to fall to the skin of the shaft, only sinking in the barest amount.

"G-gah!!!"

Hard teeth were certainly not on the list of what she expected! What on earth had their session become?! If Weiss were to bite, hard, it would hurt a hell of a lot, possibly even cause damage to her. She knew that, right? Though even holding her cock in such a position felt awfully uncomfortable, not that she could do anything about it. Any movement may make it worse!

But of course, Weiss did move; she never truly bit down, didn't make things worse, but began to rake her teeth up and down the skin of the shaft, listening to Yang's cries of mingling pleasure and discomfort. She wanted to please AND tease, and doing this seemed to be the perfect marriage of both.

Meanwhile… she was in heaven. Even though it had only been a day since she played with Lao Schlong, having it in her mouth again was always a pleasure. The "why" of that was still a mystery… which only seemed to add to her desire to repeat the experience, over and over. The warmth and the saltiness were oddly pleasing, but obviously it was the knowledge of what she was doing that made her enjoy it the most. Knowing it satisfied her girlfriend.

Occasionally Yang began to squirm back and forth against her lover's movements. Why teeth felt so oddly satisfying and yet completely discomforting was a mystery to Yang, and not one she was about to question any time soon. Instead she 'struggled' against the bar while Weiss was distracted.

Until she felt the cuffs go slack. Distracted from staring at her lover's moves, she quickly looked up at what'd happened. The chain between them both had snapped, freeing her arms completely. She could easily grasp Weiss's hair and pull her away now, push her up against the wall to completely flip the situation. But… grasping the bar again, she decided against such moves. Weiss wanted to play, and she was curious to see what she would do next.

By then, Weiss had abandoned using her teeth and was simply enveloping Yang's member, taking it deeper and deeper. At some point, she glanced up and saw Yang enjoying it, and she realized she was supposed to be "torturing" her more than this. Therefore…

"Well," she gusted as she removed her mouth and stood, wiping the saliva that had collected on her lips with the back of her hand. "Guess I'll have to… try something else."

"Something else?" Still grasping the bar, Yang faked a gulp of fear. But even if she had to act as though she was afraid, she let out a nervous laugh. "So far all you've done is give me a half-assed blow job!"

Eyes flying wide, she shouted, "Half-assed?!" Then her hand reached out and she literally _slapped_ the length in front of her.

"NNN!" Groaning out at the new sensation yet again, Yang bit her lips. She found herself putting more of her body weight onto her hands, bending her knees slightly to bring her feet off the ground in a feeble attempt to try and shield her sex. The idea that she somewhat enjoyed being slapped there brought shame, obvious when she stared toward the floor.

The groan sounded so sexually-charged that Weiss was just gaping at Yang. She liked THAT?! It seemed completely crazy, but apparently so. Part of her wanted to kiss her shaft and apologise for the rough treatment, but that apology would make no sense if Yang was enjoying herself. Therefore…

"That's right!" Weiss said in a slightly shakier tone. "You… had better talk, or you'll get more of the same, you… traitor!" What she was a "traitor" of was a mystery to them both, but it seemed to fit her makeshift narrative.

Bringing her legs in again, she continued to groan outward. There was nothing she could do but weather this treatment, this strange roleplay of hers. If anything, she was shocked Weiss hadn't noticed that the cuffs were broken yet.

"Never…" she said quietly. "You can do this all day, you'll never get anything from me!"

Slapping the cock a second time, she told her, "I don't believe that! You'll tell me what I want to know, you can't put up with this forever!"

Groaning yet again, her arms began to quiver slightly as she let her feet rest back on the ground again. Seemed she couldn't keep herself completely suspended forever, as interesting as it was. "Watch me!" she hissed.

How could Yang remain so hard in the face of this abuse? Granted, Weiss was only hitting the one part, and it was a part that seemed not to dislike such treatment. Still…

By now, it was getting harder and harder for her to resist succumbing to her own intense urges. Yang looked so delicious hanging there, exposed… she would look good anywhere, of course. Every time she stopped to think about how much she enjoyed the sight of her there, she was struck by how perfect the bodyguard was. Perfect for her.

"Fine," she breathed, hand flashing out to fondle the soft sack hanging beneath Yang. This, she was pretty sure she could NOT mistreat without doing real harm, so she didn't even try more than a gentle squeeze. "You're trying my patience, but fine. We'll think of something."

"D-Damn you…" Yang could feel her more sensitive organs getting a light squeeze. Even though she trusted Weiss with her life, she couldn't help but still try and cross her legs. All this waiting… That was the real torture in this play. And the longer she waited exposed, the worse her erection felt. She just wanted it sated.

But instead of further servicing her "prisoner", Weiss let go and began to walk around behind her. There was a rustling of fabric from the diva. As this happened, she said, "How pathetic you are… hanging there, at my mercy. I can do whatever I want to you, and yet you still stubbornly refuse to talk." Then there was a thump, and the voice behind Yang asked from a much lower position, "Last chance before I start really torturing you! Talk!"

"No!" It was instinct, even without thinking properly about what was going to happen. Yet again she pulled up slightly on the bar, bracing herself as much as possible. "I'll never talk! Never!"

"Don't say I didn't warn you…"

Next instant, there was a very light, very fluttery scratching along the blade of Yang's right foot. Fingernails that barely touched her and didn't stay in one place for more than a fraction of a second.

It definitely was a different form of torture. This time, Yang was erupting in a fit of giggles and laughter, desperately trying to bring her knees upward to get her feet away from the tickling sensations. Toes curling tightly, she squirmed back and forth, trying to suppress any giggling, but it was useless.

"HAH! N-no!!!" she yelled in the middle of her giggling.

However, this tactic backfired drastically; it only raised her foot off the floor, so Weiss could easily graze her nails over the sole. There was clearly a smile in her voice when she asked, "What? What's the matter?"

"Not that! Hahaha! Not the tickling!" Again and again she tried to flail, trying her best to escape from the attack. But while she had to keep holding the bar it was completely useless.

Watching Yang flail from this was making her laugh herself – which, of course, was breaking character. No matter; it was still very enjoyable. After a few more seconds, she pulled back to give her a break.

"Had enough, Xiao Long?"

"I can… HAH! I can do this… All day! Hahaha, _Jesus!"_ Even if she was laughing all the way through, she couldn't contain her laughter at all. Weiss was just making it worse and worse. Her squirming turned into a frantic flailing, anything to try and stop the torment.

And Weiss switched to the other foot, holding her ankle steady with the other hand to prevent being kicked in the face, watching Yang's legs flail any other ways they could. Toes flexing, her buttcheeks clenching over and over involuntarily. That, of course, gave her another idea.

"Fine," she sighed a minute or two later. "This… seems to be wearing you down, but not breaking you. I think this calls for more drastic measures."

Once she was released, she panted heavily, letting out one sigh of relief in the midst of it. Even if she was laughing, tickling wasn't particularly something Yang enjoyed at all, not that she could tell Weiss that now. Finally putting her feet back on the ground, she tried to look back. "W-What… What's next?"

At that moment, there was a loud, weirdly wet SLAP! Yet Yang felt nothing. It was something Weiss was doing all on her own. "I have plans." Then a quiet noise of something snapping; maybe something plastic. "Just don't forget that you brought this on yourself, prisoner."

"Brought what on?" she asked. What on earth was Weiss doing back there? But each time she tried to look back, Weiss moved from her vision. This was so infuriating!

"This."

And in that instant, something extremely cold and wet began to press in between Yang's round hind cheeks. Aiming for somewhere specific.

Suddenly her eyes flew wide open again. There was no mistaking what that could be, or where it was going. Weiss's finger was headed right for her only entrance. One she had just confessed to enjoying being entered not an hour ago! And where did she get the substance that surrounded that finger?!

"This will… _open you up_ , I think?" Weiss announced, twisting the finger back and forth as she pressed right into the tightly-closed skin. It was giving slightly, but not readily, and she had to wonder if she really could actually get in there without Yang opening it purposefully; after all, she'd never had any reason to try doing this on herself, and _certainly_ hadn't done it to anyone else before!

"NNNN!!! Hah! God!"

The more she teased and taunted, the more Yang could feel her body beginning to give way. Even if she protested! Of course, if she truly wanted this to stop, she could easily end it all by grabbing Weiss's hand and pulling it away, or just saying ‘Half-caff Latte’, but she didn't. She wanted Weiss to discover this weakness… this desire which she had kept buried for fear of judgement. But Weiss didn’t seem to mind at all.

"That's right!" Weiss was cackling and she pressed inward. "Now, tell me! Tell me everythi…" Her words faded out when she felt her fingertip slide past the outer rim of Yang's ass. She was actually going in.

 _"Ah!_ Haaah!" Cheeks red raw, the muscles gave way easily. It had been a long time, so very long since she had that attention. Perhaps not as long as the length between when Weiss gave her her first blow job than when Blake did, but even then, it coaxed a needy moan from her as the finger sank deeper into scandalous warmth. She wasn't lying when she said she enjoyed this… in fact, she may have undersold just how much she did.

The moans coming from Yang were so much louder and higher-pitched than she'd ever heard coming out of her that Weiss was staring in fascination at what she was doing, trying to figure out why it made her react so strongly. This was such a dirty place, and one that she never really thought about until Yang came along! Why was it driving her crazy?

Why was it driving _both_ of them crazy? The sight before her was so arousing that she almost didn't need to do anything else; she just wanted to keep pushing this finger in and out, listening to how Yang felt about this. Incredible, and unexpected but so welcome.

"D-deeper…" Yang seemed to have scrapped the role entirely. Now she was begging for more, begging to be taken by her diva instead. The stimulation of the tight ring of muscles was enough, but she knew that if Weiss pushed in further, she'd reach an extra sensitive spot inside her. That was her favourite part of this type of play, and probably why she enjoyed larger implements.

A part of her wished Weiss had a dick of her own, or at least a toy to use. Fingers did well, but Weiss’s cute little hands just weren't big enough to get there easily. But she could definitely make do.

"Oh my God…" The breath accompanied Weiss's second knuckle moving past the opening. Her other hand raised up to pry one cheek aside, so she could better view this – and she cleared her throat when she saw what she saw. "Have you ever watched this happening? It's… so fascinating…"

Yang was beyond speaking. Only focusing on the actions that were taking place. Each time she pushed that finger deep within, Yang yet out another moan, just as needy, just as desperate. At least she was doing as she wished, going deeper into her body.

But the attention to just her butt was having another side effect. The rock hard cock was beginning to lose its steam, thanks to having nothing to focus on or to stimulate it directly. A small sacrifice, but Yang didn't really care anymore. She just wanted that special spot touched.

Meanwhile, Weiss was buried completely inside Yang's behind. This couldn't be happening, and yet it was; she was fingering another person's asshole. That this person was her girlfriend helped make her feel less insane for doing so, but only by the narrowest of margins. Oh, how warm it was inside, how soft…

Eventually, she drew it back out a little bit and pushed back in, just to see what sort of reaction she would get. Of course the idea with a man taking her there would have been to thrust in and out, just as Yang did during their first time, but would the same thing work with a finger in that area?

 _"Huuuuhhhhnnnn…"_ It was a contented, but relaxed humming. Not only was Weiss getting in deep, but it was stimulating for the very ring of muscle as well, sending waves of pleasure throughout her body. And they continued as she thrust again, and again. Until one particularly deep thrust brushed against something else, that made her gasp loudly.

"What?" Weiss gasped out, holding still for a moment. "Did that hurt, did I hurt you?!"

"T-there!" She could barely hold herself together. That was the spot! The one where she craved to be touched: a small gland buried right in that forbidden orifice which Weiss had managed to brush her finger against. Against what an average person would think was rational, she tried to push her rear end back against Weiss's hand, begging again, "Right there, please! I need it…"

Face flushing a deep scarlet at the sudden increase of Yang's enthusiasm, Weiss pushed her finger in as much as she could – and indeed, she felt something spongy pushing back against her finger. The surface gave easily when she prodded it, but the harder she pushed, the firmer it became – even though it was still fleshy.

"This?" she inquired softy. "You… need that?"

"Hnnnnn!!" All Yang could do was hold on for dear life while her girlfriend prodded and taunted, breath becoming quicker by the minute, even if at the front her cock seemed to be softening. This was her ultimate weakness, what she wanted Weiss to attack the most. "Yes, yes definitely! I need that! I need it so much!"

"Tell me," Weiss asked – _asked_ , not demanded, her voice soft and hallowed as she began to stroke it hesitantly, still not sure how hard was too hard. "What's it feel like?"

That was a difficult question for her pleasure-filled mind. One she didn't quite know how to answer properly. Just now did it feel?

"Warm…" Was the first word that came to mind, for reasons completely unclear. But as Weiss stroked a little more, she moaned out again, giving more info. "L-like.. I don't know if it's e-exactly the same… But, when I'm f-fingering you? And I g-go for the G-spot?"

"O-OH," Weiss gasped quietly, understanding even more. "This feels like _that?_ In your-" But she stopped herself from finishing the question; there was no reason for Yang to lie or make things up. Even if it was inconceivable to her that Yang would have such a spot inside this taboo part of herself, who was she to argue?

So her finger traced a little circle across its oddly-ridged surface, teasing the pulpy mass. "Am… I doing this right?"

"Y-yes! Yes it's perfect… B-but…" Trying to contain her moans, resist completely giving into the pleasure. It was becoming increasingly difficult, and it would become even more so with the following confession. "C-can you…" She swallowed, licking her lips. Finally closing her eyes tightly, she gave into her shame, fessing up to what she wanted. "Use two fingers?"

Her voice was still a little shaky, but she couldn't help but chuckle slightly. "Well… somebody's feeling greedy tonight!" Then she looked at the tiny hole dubiously. "Um… are you sure this will be alright? Two fingers seems like a lot."

By now she had dropped the character completely, and tried to look back around to her in her arousal filled state. Tensing the muscles around her finger instinctively, she swallowed.

"Weiss, I've handled a dick back there, I can handle two fingers. Don’t worry."

"That's true…" The pop star's finger began to work back and forth more, trying to widen the opening as much as was possible. The sight pleased her too much; she shouldn't have cared about it, but knowing she was bringing this much pleasure to Yang was turning her on more than almost anything else did. "Did you like that? Taking a big, strong cock in this little tiny hole?"

"Yes!" That was such an obvious question. Of course she enjoyed it! She wouldn't be begging for more fingers if she didn't. The more she thought about it, the more she began to think back at the times it happened, the occasions when she was forced to lay and spread, and just take whatever came to her. It felt depraved, but she loved every minute. And she loved Weiss doing the same.

So much she could feel things beginning to knot below. She wasn't going to come yet, but it wasn't too far away at all.

Leaning forward, Weiss pressed her lips up against one of Yang's soft cheeks, eyes closing as she placed a loving kiss there. "Yeah… I bet you did. You liked having someone fill you." Delicately, she withdrew her finger and quickly snatched up the bottle of lube, pouring just a tiny bit on a second finger before pressing both up against the rapidly-closing orifice. "Ah, ah, ah… we're not done here yet!"

Then she was sliding both fingers inside. No hesitation, no misgivings as before. Just forcing the walls of skin as wide as she wanted them.

 _"Hhhhaaaaaaa!!!"_ At last, a bigger presence was in her behind again. Now that she could feel her muscles widening even more thanks to those fingers, she quivered in excitement and pleasure, moaning out loudly. It felt a little like a cock, especially when Weiss thrust in and out. And then when she occasionally brushed her prostate again, the moans only got needier. Yet again, she pushed her hips back for more, eyes closed in ecstasy.

"You… _really_ love this," Weiss breathed as she tried her best to reach both fingers to the little cluster of nerves in there. It seemed to be more difficult than it was with one finger, but she still managed the task. "You want me to do this for you more often? I mean… I guess I could, if you like it."

The majority of her talking was now in between gasps and moans as she continued to quiver all over. Those fingers were about to be her end, and she knew it! She could feel the knots in her stomach with one particular stroke against said nerve, that made her moan extra loudly.

"Y-yes!" She called, there was no point in hiding her shame anymore, she adored this. And if Weiss's wanted to do it more often for her, it was a win win. "Yes I do! It's amazing! I-it's… Ah!"

The way Yang's legs were flailing everywhere, cheeks alternately tensing and releasing, made her eyes grow wider and wider as she thrust in and out of that tight hole, making sure to trail her fingertips over the knot of pleasure every last time. Her teeth flashed out and sank into the hind cheek now, digging in, wanting to make part of the experience a part of herself. Loving that she could help her girlfriend feel more like a woman.

Because she sounded like one! Weiss had never heard Yang sound so womanly in any of their sexual escapades before; she had a feminine voice and sounded like she was enjoying herself, but this was on the verge of the screaming, whimpering mess she herself became during orgasm. In fact, it was probably the exact level of messiness. That alone wowed her, made her blink in awe of this silly little hole that seemed to help bring her a disproportionate amount of joy.

"Ah! _AH!!_ W-Weiss!!! I'm…. _NNNNNN!"_

Suddenly she was even more of a quivering mess. A few strokes later, and Yang was instinctively bringing her legs up off the floor, barely supporting her own body weight while she was trying to tighten all her muscles and call out loudly. It felt fantastic, _god_ it felt fantastic. Weiss had managed to get her off back there on her first try.

And yet… her cock seemed to have gone down more or less. There wasn't any white fluid being produced like last time. In fact, no liquid at all. Was it actually possible for her to have orgasmed without coming? Yang knew of course it was, but for Weiss, it was new exploration.

"Oh, damn," Weiss breathed in some amazement. "That was your- aww, I was hoping to enjoy Lao a little before that happened." Then she shrugged and kissed Yang's nearest cheek. "But you sounded like you had fun; I guess we'll just have to clean up your mess now."

Panting more and more, Yang gradually let her legs back down to the ground again, taking the weight back off her arms when she looked to 'Lao'. Still clean as anything, and relatively soft.

"What do you mean?" she asked between a few gasps. "He's… perfectly clean. Wasn't that… kind of orgasm."

"It wasn't-" Then she leaned over past Yang's hip to observe. True enough… "Oh, you- what were you lying for?! If you didn't like what I was doing back here, all you had to do was speak up! God!"

"W-what?" Yang panted, unable to help but tighten herself around the fingers that were still inside her, which coaxed a slight moan. "Hhhh! I did like it! L-like I said, d-different orgasm. That one doesn't make things… messy."

"Wait, but- you mean…" Slowly, Weiss was beginning to take Yang's meaning, but it seemed completely impossible. "You can have a… a separate _butt-orgasm?!"_

Blushing completely red, Yang looked downward in shame. Of course, she could have covered her face easily, but she was still making out she was 'captured'. "Yeah. Doesn't happen often… ‘cause guys have been pretty crappy at it. They usually just fuck until they come and don’t think about me getting off in there. B-but… you, just now… damn."

That changed Weiss's expression entirely. The confusion lingered as a background element, but she was clearly excited and pleased now. "So… I didn't mess up? That's good, that's… really good." Then her fingers flexed involuntarily in the hole as she gazed at the flaccid cock. "It's so cute this way, you know that?"

"Cute? How is it _cuuuuaaaaahhh…."_ She trailed off to yet another moan when Weiss flexed her finger. By now she was becoming slightly overstimulated, quivering that little more. "I can… go for another you know." She informed her, though was now pacing away from her fingers. "J-just not the _butt orgasm."_

"Hmm…" Clearly, Weiss was contemplating. Once she had come to a decision, she began edging Yang's legs apart an inch at a time until she was standing quite wide, barely able to stay upright. "Yes, that should be far enough."

Then Weiss began to crawl between her legs, hand carefully maintaining its position in Yang's behind – though she did have to turn it slightly as she went, making Yang wince and shiver. Once she was in front, it became clear what the rustling sounds were down to earlier: Weiss was wearing nothing but black lacey underwear.

Now that she could finally catch the sight of her lover, Yang’s cheeks flushed again. No woman should have this amount of power over her, not to make her weak at the knees by just a simple choice of attire. But half closing her eyes, she sighed contently. "For saying your name is Weiss, black sure is your colour."

Ducking her head in surprise at the random praise, Weiss kissed one of Yang's thighs gently. "Glad you approve." Then she pulled back and smiled up at her. "I'm probably the worst 'captor' ever, huh? You're my prisoner and here I am, pretty much acting like _your_ slave."

"Hey, is that such a bad thing?" she asked, tensing her muscles behind once more and shuddering slightly. How was Weiss still there?! "I can always get back into the role, if you needed me to?"

"That won't be necessary. I mean, unless you want to! Then go for it!" But as she wriggled her fingers slightly, scooting forward on her knees, she began to look thoughtful. "Um… I have a question."

"Hmm?" She asked with another shudder, attempting to focus once again. "G-go on?"

"With my other hand where it is…" She leaned inward and left a soft kiss on the partly-wrinkled skin of Yang's unaroused flesh. "Can you get off here? Honestly, I'm asking."

"You mean if you blow me while poking the pucker?" she asked, testing the sensation by tightening her muscles yet again. "Yeah… If anything, it'll help me come faster."

Almost an involuntary reaction, the pop star's eyes lit up as she gazed up at Yang – but it wasn't exactly because her question had been answered. For whatever reason, she looked vastly more eager than she had seconds before.

"Say that again."

"S-say what?" now she was curious. Her diva seemed to have had an idea other than fingering her and blowing her, and that could only mean an even wilder ride.

"What you want me to do." Her lips left another kiss on the tip, a bit longer and more tender, but still not enveloping the head entirely. "Tell me."

What did she want her to do? Even if it wasn't visible, she was far too aroused to think straight. She just wanted to come, in any way possible. The fastest way she knew how was with Weiss's mouth. By now she was an expert after all.

"Your mouth," she whispered. "Turn me on again… with your mouth."

"You want me to blow you?" she muttered back in response, her breath coming faster and faster as she hovered just beyond the reach of Yang's soft length. "To… let you fuck my mouth again? Am I your dirty little slut?"

Even Weiss herself seemed a little shocked at the end of what she was saying, eyelashes fluttering rapidly. But she didn't stop, didn't recant her words. Instead, she watched Yang for a reaction.

Nodding frantically, Yang whispered, “Yeah, baby. Let me fuck your mouth.” Trying to tense herself once again around the two fingers inside her. If anything, it was the sensation of tightness and being filled that helped her now, rather than the prostate stimulation. She knew that would be what would aid her in her orgasm.

But that brief little spate of dirty-talk had certainly not hurt anything.

No more waiting. Weiss took Yang's length into her mouth entirely – and her moan of satisfaction turned to one of mild surprise as she found how easily it fit inside of her mouth in this state. How easily it moved back and forth when her tongue pressed against the warm flesh. Her eyes closed in bliss as she experimented with the new sensation, rolling Yang from side to side, shivering at the feeling of the wrinkled skin at the tip.

Yet again Yang was back to a moaning, quivering mess. All it took was a couple of fingers in her backside, and she became the most submissive girlfriend anyone could ever imagine; never mind that her cock was in Weiss’s mouth! Thinking about how many millions of people across the nation praised that mouth, the music that flowed from it, made her almost too ashamed to fully enjoy using it for something this tawdry. But it also made her feel that much more special.

Such actions were making her cock grow by the minute, and what was once soft, wrinkled skin around her head was turning back into the rock solid length that Weiss adored, and fast. And with that, so did the sensitivity to the tongue rotating around her member.

The progression from soft to hard did not take long, but was gradual enough that Weiss was able to adjust her positioning and relax her throat, taking Yang in gratefully. Her eyes closed as she began to move her head forward and backward once it felt rigid enough to do so. Yes, she loved her girlfriend for many reasons… but this was a very unique benefit that she could not get enough of, no matter how often they did this.

And it was one that Yang could never believe her luck with. No matter who she saw herself dating, she never assumed anyone would like the presence of her cock. Not straight men, not lesbian women; no one. But there was Weiss, enjoying taking it into her throat, more or less sucking it dry whenever she wanted – because she liked doing it, and liked pleasing her. She really was a woman beyond her dreams.

But it didn't take her long before she was starting to quiver again. The relentless fingers in her ass added with her merciless tongue were making short work of Lao, and she had to let her know.

"I-it's… It's coming!"

For a few seconds, Weiss's only reaction was for her eyes to smile slightly; it was only visible there because her mouth was otherwise occupied. The length was not as hard as it had been at times in the past, but she could still feel it throbbing as if the end were near. Waiting to pour forth the end result of their sessions.

So she didn't waste any more time. Drawing her head back and away from Yang's cock, her free hand came up to grasp and squeeze it, stroking hard and fast. Once it was out her mouth, Yang couldn't help but gasp again when the cold air hit her member. But when yet again a hand wrapped around her hard length and pumped hard, she was back to moaning again, getting higher and higher pitched by the minute.

"Come for me!" the diva gasped out between damp lips. "Cover me again!"

And with one final thrust of her hand, and Weiss's fingers, she was done for. Yelling out loudly, her legs began to quiver uncontrollably, length throbbing in Weiss's hand as it expelled more seed. Once again, right onto Weiss's face, some on her cheeks, some near her mouth, some on her nose. No other girl she ever knew enjoyed being coated this way, but Weiss did. The evidence was right there to prove it.

Even more pronounced than before, Weiss let out a decadent groan of pleasure as she felt the hot seed splash across her face, as her hand squeezed as much out as was possible. Nothing seemed to beat out this experience for her.

Now, however, there was a new feeling to add to the others: Yang's taboo ring of muscle clamping down around her fingers with every spurt, with every girly scream that ripped out of her throat. Oh, it was so glorious! It was safe to say that neither of them were immune from being degraded in that moment, with one covered in ejaculate and the other being anally probed. Sharing equally in the shame.

But Yang wasn't about to let it defeat her. Two orgasms in quick succession, but Weiss hadn't even had one yet. How was that fair? Especially when she was the one that was supposed to be more dominant in this situation. That was something she'd just have to correct.

And so, when she was distracted drawing her fingers slowly out her backside, she suppressed the small moan, only to then let go of the bar at long last. Weiss was too distracted revealing in the enjoyment of having Yang's seed on her face – and yanking off the plastic glove she had put on before they began – to notice her quickly bending down to put her hands on Weiss's hips, then lifting her onto her shoulder, just like when they first met. "My turn!"

The first thing Weiss did was make a weak grasp for Yang's cock and yelp, "But-!" Then when she was suddenly plunked onto a shoulder, she grunted, "H-hey! Wait, how did you get free?!"

"You shoulda upped your budget on the handcuffs!" she taunted, but Weiss wasn't on her shoulders for long at all. A few steps later, she was thrown into the plush soft surface of the bed, only to have Yang quickly jump on top of her. Without even letting Weiss get rid of the evidence on her face, her fingers were trailing down Weiss's thighs, heading straight for that black lace underwear…

"O-oh!" was all Weiss could think to yelp. Now she could see the cuffs; still on Yang's wrists, but the chains were snapped, and quite easily at that. She hadn't been entirely serious about using them when she bought them in the first place, but this was a bit embarrassing – they didn't even last one full session!

But Yang's hands were teasing her so effectively that she couldn't focus on that long. Face still covered in spunk and the taste of her lover lingering on her palate, she could only brace herself, ready to accept Yang's sudden advances.

"Who's the prisoner now, huh?" she asked, staring down at her visibly marked lover, fingers making short work of the panties as they pulled them to one side, immediately pressing two fingers between them. Oh how wet she was! The waiting and watching must have took its toll on her poor poor diva… But still, she continued to gather up as much moisture as she could.

"But you like that, don't you? You like to be all mine."

All Weiss could do was nod and squeal as her entire body shivered at the sudden and unashamed teasing of her oversaturated sex. Yes, of course all their actions had completely driven her up the wall with need. Anybody would be this wet!

"You won't have to wait anymore…" Finally satisfied with just how wet they were, Yang plunged them deep into her, immediately starting a fast, relentless pace. Hard, quick, whatever she needed to push her above and beyond the limit, just as she had done with her twice this evening.

"NNHhhhhhhHH!!" she wailed, teeth clenched against the onslaught of sensation Yang was bringing her. Every time, it was this good – this powerful! How could she be this fantastic on a regular basis? It ought to have been entirely impossible!

Grinning happily, Yang continued such movements, curling her fingers on occasion to hit Weiss's G-spot over and over again. It seemed only right to do so, seeing as according to Yang's description, that was where Weiss's fingers touched on her. But it wasn't enough to get her going quick enough.

Pressing a thumb up against her clit, she circled it over and over again, and leant in close to her ear. "Don't hold back, prisoner. Moan for me."

And Weiss did not. Her voice rivalled that of Yang's when she was prodding that hidden area deep within her – not as high and desperate, but longer, more sustained notes. To be expected of the singer. It did surprise her that Yang's were more unhinged – wasn't this supposed to be the area on women where they were most sensitive?

Then again, Yang _was_ a woman… and she was one who almost never had her "spot" teased. Poor thing. She would have to make it a point to offer that service on a semi-regular basis.

Out of everything in the world, hearing the primal sounds of her lover was one of Yang’s favourites. The knowledge that no one had ever heard her this unhinged before certainly added to her satisfaction. Such satisfaction only made her continue to thrust against that sweet spot, circle her clit even faster. All this still whilst her face was covered!

"I'm almost there!" she started panting, arching her back more, legs flailing as she was relentlessly teased. "Y-your dirty little slut is almo- alm-most there!"

"Yes!" Yang grinned, ramping up the speed that little bit more for the final push. In a last-ditch attempt to assist, she leant toward her neck, quickly biting down and suckling at it, hard. While her face had a temporary mark that could soon be wiped away, Yang intended to give one that would last a few days longer. After all, there were no more concerts to dress up for, only their own time now once they got back to Nashville.

All of this was enough to send Weiss screaming over the edge – mostly the furious fingers stabbing up into her g-spot, of course, but the pressure at her neck and the liquid resting against her face made it that much more enjoyable. Perfect. It was a perfect moment of depraved ecstasy.

Satisfied with the obvious purple bruising that had formed thanks to her actions, Yang grinned as she looked down at her, delivering a few thrusts in the final stages of her orgasm so she could ride it out to the max.

A minute later, Weiss was panting and gazing at the ceiling with wide, cloudy eyes when Yang withdrew her fingers. The way she could get her off so effortlessly was like a magic trick that she knew most of the steps to, yet was still surprised by the result. She was in complete awe.

Feeling and seeing were completely different things when it came to Weiss's wetness. When she brought her fingers up to take a look, she began to notice the thin strings attaching the two together. Her diva really was raring to go, and must have had a hard orgasm. Staring in interest, she chuckled to herself.

"Well, you made a mess of my fingers."

"And you… made a mess of my face." She wouldn't move, she didn't want to disturb the moment. "Seriously, that… was a lot this time. Was it because of what I was doing to your butt? Or just… you know, a random occurrence?"

"Kinda both, I think…" Finally reaching over to the small box of tissues on the bedside table, first she wiped the small amount off her fingers, then began to dab at the amount on her face. It really was a fair amount! "Honestly, babe, I don't think I've _ever_ come that hard. You got the touch."

Blushing to the gills, Weiss's smile was beyond merely pleased. It was overjoyed. "Good. I mean, I hope I can do that for you again, as well." Once her face was clean, she turned to look at her girlfriend more directly. "Um… and I'll be honest, I wasn't sure whether or not I would enjoy doing that back there. That's one part of the body I've always thought of as having one use and one use only, and it's not one I'm fond of thinking about. But as it turns out… not so bad."

"I think everyone thinks that at first. I did, anyways. But after a while, when you start to think about it… makes sense it would feel really good. Super close to some other parts that do, right?" Too tired to do much more, she simply laid by her girlfriend's side and looked right back at her, tucking one of her arms under her head to rest against. "Hey, maybe even one day, if you wanted to try it out…"

"NO." Weiss voice sounded sure of herself, but the expression on her face was less certain. After all, Yang really did look as if she enjoyed this as much as having her "front" serviced. Could there really be something to that act?

"Well… _maaaaayyybe_. But not anytime soon!" she warned the bodyguard. "Don't start just poking around back there without my permission first, or you’re _so_ fired!"

Rolling her eyes, she simply smiled contently. "Eh, it was worth a shot to ask at least. But if you ever wanna try, you know where I'll be."

Sighing, she leaned over and snuggled against Yang's side, kissing her cheek. "I certainly do."


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: More transphobia. Also, sinister plotting.

**=Chapter 18**

It was the final sprint until the tour was officially over. Three hours to go in their journey, the two were stopping off for some final snacks and supplies before they would be back at home - in the company of much stricter parents, for some. Yang had managed to win Weiss around to getting a chips and chocolate for another movie watching session, on the insistence that they actually watched a movie this time.

Though they had been braced for some horrible tabloid news about what Reese saw in the trailer to come out, there was barely a blip. Apparently, the news had chosen to focus on the tragedy of Weiss being attacked – again – rather than the rantings of a criminal. They had gotten _very_ lucky. But they still kept an eye on the media outlets for any leaks.

And there certainly was one… it just wasn’t what they were dreading.

While the bus was gassing up, the two wandered into the attached convenience store to search for what they wanted. Yang was in charge of drink, Weiss in charge of food; an easy enough challenge. As they looked through the various brands, the radio played quietly in the background, but what was usually a nice quiet soundtrack for their shopping experience would be entirely different once the song that was on ended.

_"And that was 'Cooler Than Water' by Neptune – this guy can’t be stopped! But of course, our attention today's on one of the girls burning up the music industry, wouldn't you agree, Bart?"_

_"Absolutely, Pete, the whole world won't stop talking about her! I mean, one album out and another on the way, only just finished her tour I think, as well. Yet outta the blue, there's this new leak, a song that’s a completely different style from what we’re used to from her. It's madness, I say!"_

As Weiss picked up a package of chocolate cupcakes and looked at them distastefully, wishing they had some healthier options, their topic of chatter reached her ears. Of course, she was always interested in Neptune - though for slightly less personal reasons now. But who was this new breakout artist? Or was she a more well-established one who simply had some new song?

_"Madness, indeed, my friend! Straight out of our own Nashville, isn't she something? Well, anyway, we won't keep you in suspense any longer - here's the clip that has gone viral in just a couple of short days!"_

The minute the acoustic guitar started, a sinking feeling hit her in the pit of her stomach. That sounded familiar. TOO familiar. And before she could finish that thought…

_"When you’re, with me, every sky is grey… because, you stole, the sun out of the day…"_

There was a sudden loud POP! as Weiss squeezed the packaged cupcakes so hard the plastic wrap couldn't handle the pressure.

The other side of the store, having just picked up a bottle of orange soda, Yang was also on the same page, only just noticing the music that was playing. Not just any song; her song. _Their_ song. Face turning as white as a sheet, she completely forgot what she was doing, freezing completely as she kept listening.

It was definitely their song, no question. But how on earth did it end up on the radio?! The quality was pretty good but nowhere near professional. But then it began to click: who else was so much of a fan she would be itching for something like this?

_"Ruby!"_

When she heard Yang utter that one word, even across the store, Weiss completely understood. Yang's capricious little sister just couldn't help herself, and had stood there, recording them performing that song together for the first time. It was so inadequate! Listening to the clip, she knew it sounded alright, but her professional sensibilities were screaming that they needed to rerecord it - that note Yang played was off, she could have sustained singing that word longer…

 _"Isn't that fantastic, Pete?!"_ the announcer interrupted her thoughts. _"Marvellous – and I know you can't tell from the clip, not on radio, but the person playing the guitar isn't Weiss herself, it isn't another musician, it's a total unknown! So who is this woman?!"_

_"According to the description, it's her BODYGUARD of all people! Clearly not a professional but they play off each other pretty well in this stripped-down session.”_

“ _Can you imagine, leaping from a typical musclehead job to dropping a track with a known top-ten artist? Has to be like a dream come true!"_

Already Yang was finally making her way back toward Weiss, trying to keep her own face now covered up as if everyone around would be looking her way. But as she looked down the various aisles to try and find her girlfriend, the announcers continued their conversation.

_"And you've all been texting in your theories on what the song could be about! Just got this from an Ilia… Am-ammy… I apologise, I can't pronounce your last name – from Austin, Texas. 'It sounds like overcoming your fears of being yourself, maybe even about coming out?' Which I think is an interesting take, that it could be linked to LGBT issues… especially from this straight-laced pop princess. But what do you think, Bart?"_

The announcers continued right along as Weiss started turning redder and redder, still twisting the cupcakes into oblivion. _"Quite possible, quite possible - would be a startling revelation, of course, but with Miley, Kesha, Halsey, Tegan and Sara and other such artists out there - and OUT there, who can be surprised by this anymore? It is the twenty-first century, after all!"_

_"But you know her background. Christian singer to LGBT spokesman is a pretty huge jump! So far, no comments from Weiss herself on the subject, but Neon Katt's had her mouth wide open!"_

_"You gotta admit that's pretty funny though, that the one whose theme is rainbows is the one telling someone else to come out the closet!"_

"If _there is a closet to come out of! We won't know until something's said. All speculation."_

Finally having found her down the aisle, Yang quickly ran over and patted her shoulder to get her attention. Her face was as embarrassed as it could be, like she had truly been humiliated. Now she was getting the full experience of what Weiss felt every day, worrying about being watched.

"We better go, quick."

Nodding numbly, Weiss allowed herself to be steered toward the door. After a few seconds, she managed to sputter, "W-wait, we have to pay for these cupcakes…"

"Oh just… Just give it here."

Too flustered to react in any rational way, she quickly took the destroyed cupcake pack, grasping a bottle of Coca Cola while on the way to the cash register. Not exactly as much as they set their sights on getting when they first entered, but all she was concerned about was getting in and out, quickly.

"WhoahoaHOAH, what happened here?" the cashier with the lank reddish hair asked as their things were rung up. His nametag read "Nolan", but it wasn't clear if that was a first name or last. "Forgot to take them out of the wrapper before eating 'em?"

"S-something like that, dropped them, went to grab 'em, musta fucked up the package." No better excuses to go with, she quickly grabbed a couple of packs of gum by the counter to add, before reaching into her wallet. It was obvious she was more than eager to try and get out as quick as possible. "Let's see that's… Just under ten bucks, right?"

"Yeah, that'll cover it." As he started ringing up their purchase, the small TV next to the register began playing the clip of Yang and Weiss performing their song again; the sound was down quite low, but Yang was easily visible.

"Hey…" As he finished counting out the change, he turned back with a bemused smile. "You know, you guys actually kinda look like…" Then his eyes widened. "Holy SHIT!"

But they were already gone, Weiss having followed her bodyguard's lead; she wasn't entirely sure the loserly man presented any real threat, but she also had no desire to stand around, discussing her celebrity status while she was still reeling in shock from that song making it onto the airwaves.

"This is a disaster," she breathed as they reached the door to the bus, Yang fumbling to unlock it. Now, they would no longer even leave the doors unlocked just for a quick trip into a mini-mart. "This is- I can't believe this is happening!"

"I'm gonna fucking kick Ruby's ass when she gets back to Nashville…" Yang never meant that, but at the moment she was far too stressed to think of any decent response. There was no one else it could be, and at the very least Ruby was going to explain herself. As soon as the door opened, she flung herself inside, quickly locking the door behind them both and putting the snacks down on the sofa.

"How did we not know about this sooner? When did she even record us?!"

"Obviously there was only one time she could have," Weiss growled. "I can't believe this - I can't believe she would betray me like that! I thought Ruby was cool - and you're her _sister!"_

"She must not have realised what it would do. I mean, she's just used to reblogging fanart and quotes. But God, she is _gonna_ know." Not even wasting any time, she sat at the table, propping up her phone. Quickly pulling a chair up next to her, she patted it. "I think you should get first word in."

Sighing deeply, Weiss nodded and plopped herself down while Yang edged out of view. For a second, she worried about what her hair and makeup might look like, but then remembered that even though she was about to yell at Ruby, she was yelling at a friend, not a news source or a talk show host.

“Heyyyy, Sis!” Ruby replied in a nervous voice once the call connected. The initial picture of her face was one of a completely uncertain grin. “You’re, um, probably calling about the… the… oh.”

Weiss’s eyebrow went up as she drummed the table with her fingertips. “No, go on. You were saying?”

“W-Weiss! It’s you! I mean, you’re you! Hi! It’s b-been so long!”

“It’s been one day. Now, it sounded like you had something fairly interesting to tell me a second ago when you thought I was your sister.”

Squirming in her seat, Ruby’s smile slipped a notch. It wasn’t clear whether or not the gleam on her forehead was from the lighting and video connection, or a growing sheen of sweat. “Ummm… so, I don’t know if you’ve seen the news or anythi-”

“We heard the clip playing on the radio.”

“Oh! Good, then, that’s… that’s great! Heh heh… I… am _so sorry!_ I didn’t mean for this to happen, I was just so excited that my big sis was playing a song with my idol, and I made a post, and then when I went back to delete the post it was already all over the internet, and… and I’m really, REALLY sorry!”

"It's not just on the internet anymore," Yang commented, now choosing her moment to shuffle in and appear in view of the camera. Glaring down at the small image of her sister, she had to hold herself back from completely screaming, only just managing to do so when she shouted, "What did you even put on that post anyway?! Everyone is thinking Weiss is gay and… Well, even if we know that's true, her father sure as hell doesn't!"

"Oh God, I know," Ruby said, deflating completely now. "But I _swear,_ I didn't say anything about you two being together - just that I was super excited about the new song! I didn't even tell them that's you in the video, Sis - I promise, PROMISE-promise!"

"It's true! She really had no idea it would go viral, her blog only has about two hundred followers." An equally flustered Penny could be heard, only just joining Ruby's side after she tucked her hair behind her ear. It was clear they had both been stressing themselves out just as much, probably for a lot longer. "I mean… she has more followers _now_. People like it, they really do like it from what comments we've seen. But oh, this is such a mess!"

"Well… that's a good thing, I suppose," Weiss stammered, taken aback. Now she had to think about this on a deeper level than just being exposed. "But it doesn't excuse you posting it without my permission, I hope you know!"

"Oh, I do!" Ruby gasped out desperately, tears coming to her eyes. "Gosh, I'm so sorry, this wasn't- I mean, you're my favourite person in the whole world, I would _never_ do anything to hurt you on purpose!"

"This could make things really bad, we don't even know what her dad's gonna say just yet! And… Oh fuck, my job…" Yang was beginning to panic, running a hand through her hair. She was just as hurt as Weiss, possibly more so since she wasn’t used to this level of exposure, even if she knew thousands of pictures existed of her sticking middle fingers up at supporters.

But instead, Penny looked back and forth between her tearful girlfriend, and the two women on the screen. This was too much for her to leave alone, so she thought to herself. "But… This is good though! Everyone’s reaction is positive!"

"What are you talking about? If Weiss's dad finds out, I can kiss my ass goodb-"

"Finds out what? That a song written by his daughter went viral in two days?" She interrupted before Yang could finish, continuing to explain, "I'd be surprised but happy, myself. Look at what people have been saying! Some have been saying it's the best thing ever, others have even said it's made them feel _good_ about themselves for being who they are. Weiss, Yang, I think if you recorded it professionally, it could be a number one hit!"

"Really?" Weiss asked with a slight smile. Then she shook her head in an effort to rid it of the newly-appearing glitter. "Wait- no, I can't think about that now. This call was so I could tell Ruby that she should be more careful about how she handles things on her blog!"

Even before she finished speaking, Ruby was nodding her head vigorously. "Of course, yeah - man, I am so sorry you don't even know! I really would have deleted the post but… I mean, there's no point anymore, it's _everywhere_ by now! It was already on the news when I figured out people everywhere were seeing it, and… and saying things about you that aren't cool!"

"But _buuuut-!"_ Penny interrupted, quickly leaning against her girlfriend's shoulder. In times like these, dwelling on the bad results would only make things worse, at least, that's what Penny remembered her father always saying. "The majority of feedback has been positive. Artists are jealous and will say bad stuff; but the public love it. Well, except for the ones who think it’s a publicity stunt and are upset about that."

The once stressing Yang was starting to think about this herself now. Yes, it was far too late to do anything about it; but not too late to think of the approach. "Well… people always want to look for bad shit to gossip about. That's what I gathered from college, anyways."

"But they're not bad things, really," Ruby told her more seriously. "I mean, just that you _might_ be gay - which they don't know for sure! And don’t forget it’s not a bad thing, right?"

"That's bad if her dad finds out… or her sister." Yang cringed upon thinking. If everything Weiss had said so far was true, then those two believing that their beloved Weiss was gay would mean all kinds of trouble. "But… the media are spreading these kinds of rumours all the time… And your dad will be used to that, right?"

"He is not," Weiss sighed nervously, swaying in her seat as her head throbbed. There would be a migraine, she just knew it. "I mean, he's used to these things happening in general, but not about ME - the worst rumour ever going around about me was that I was dating Beiber, and nobody even implied we were sleeping together. Just… that in general."

"I remember that," Ruby sighed irritably, mood changing for the first time since the call began. "God, I spent SO much time yelling at those jerks! Even just saying you were 'thirsty' for him or Neptune - that was bad enough!"

"But this can just be anyone spreading anything just… Argh." Yang still felt pretty annoyed, but in truth… "What's done is done, we can't delete it. We'll have to deal with your dad when we get back." Shrugging her shoulders, she looked back over to Weiss. "Hopefully he'll be okay with things if we point out how popular it is. A number one will look good for him more than anything, right?"

Growling under her breath, she said, "That's true. Well, I guess we know what we have to start working on the minute I get back to Nashville."

"You… you what?" Ruby's eyes began sparkling the minute she figured out what was going on. "Really? You're going to record a studio version?! Oh, that's so awesome - I'm so excited!! It's my new fave, and I mean that - not just because it's my sister and her perfect girlfriend, but because it really is a-"

"Perhaps we should let you both continue with your journey! Before we cause any more disturbance, right Ruby?" Penny had quickly covered her girlfriend's mouth before she could ramble anymore. She knew full well how long they would be in this call for if she didn't.

Seeming grateful, Yang nodded. "Yeah, we should be home in couple hours. But you've learned the lesson now, right? Don't put stuff up like that without asking."

"And don't record people without their consent!" Weiss added with a finger actually wagging toward the camera.

"Mmmhmmm!" Ruby said as audibly as she could, nodding a lot. Then she held up a hand to wave at them. "Bhhmmbhhmm!"

"Take care!" Weiss said, relenting enough to flash the girl a small smile.

Once the call ended, Yang could only press her face straight down against the table below. Even if they needed to look at the positives, so far this was a disaster. Thankfully, no one knew who she was, so she was rather safe. But if the theories to the song's meaning continued…

"We are so fucked…"

* * *

 

After endless weeks on the road, Weiss and her girlfriend-slash-bodyguard finally found themselves back at the tall building in Nashville that housed the Schnee offices and home. Not that Weiss really cared about getting there; she would be glad not to have to deal with the stress of constant travel, but she also had no love for their current living arrangements. As she had told Yang before, she missed the home they had growing up, but that was long gone; they all moved on from it when they lost the Schnee matriarch.

"So weird to think about how we were the last time we were here," Weiss said with a wistful smile. "At each other's throats, hating the situation we'd been thrown into by my father. Sometimes things really do change."

"Yeah… They really do." They were already unloading the bus. Even though the rest of the staff agreed to do the rest, Yang had insisted on carrying the essentials up with Weiss. She gazed at that same brilliant white room she saw on her first day. And that was back when her only attire for the job was a firm fitting suit. It really was amazing how much of a difference three months had made.

Placing the cases down in the hallway, she began to pace around the room idly. Did she even hear an echo when her boots made contact with the ground? The more she began to look around again, the more she was starting to miss the bus already… It was cramped, bumpy, had a bath so small only Weiss could fit in it comfortably. But it was at least alive, something like a _home_ for them now.

Now the two were closer, and Yang could ask the questions she was too nervous to before. So she did; "Why so… White? I know that's what Weiss means but, when I first came in here, I at least expected a few paintings, or knick knacks or something, y'know?"

"Because it's not home. Never has been and never will be. Just a place to entertain and sleep sometimes." Then her smile turned wry. "You haven't seen the bedroom, though. It's… slightly better."

"Please tell me you at least have a stuffed toy. I mean, even a big, bad bodyguard like me has at least three…"

Weiss's face cleared into an expression of pure joy at that remark as she guided Yang into the back of her rooms. "You do? You’ll have to show me sometime!"

Then they were in the bedroom of her suite. It was decorated with much the same layout; white on white. However, there were marked differences. While everything had been purely aesthetic in the main sitting area, here there was some function. Several bookshelves absolutely filled with books of all shapes and sizes, even though the shelves were white to match. Over in the corner, a baby grand piano - white, of course. But the bed…

"Mmmmm," she sighed as she sank down into the black-and-blue zebra print of the comforter. "The only thing I miss. Not that the one in the bus is _that_ uncomfortable, really… the memory foam helps."

At least from here, Yang could learn some things about her! Shame they were so at one another's throats the first time they met that she couldn’t have learned anything. So Weiss could play piano, and probably did so often, if one was in her bedroom. Her favourite book genres seemed to be various fantasies, with a few old textbooks novels slotted in. "Oh, of course, Harry Potter," she muttered to herself upon noticing the collection on the shelf.

But then when she looked straight to the bed, she noticed the very things she'd just mentioned. Stuffed toys. Two of them, a white rabbit wearing a blue bow tie, and a lion, with a surprisingly well kept mane. Even if Weiss was a young adult, it was a relief to see at least some living proof of her childhood.

"Thank god, I was about to think I'd have to run to a toy store and get you some."

"Oh, I know what _you_ want from the toy store," she laughed, but even her laugh was comfortable rather than overly teasing or disapproving. She rolled over, kicking off her heels as she did so and lay with her arms spread wide. "But Brrr and Mr. Flopsy are plenty of company on cold nights, thank you very much."

"Brrr and Mr. Flopsy?" Yang asked, sitting herself down on the corner of the bed near Weiss's right arm, looking back over to them. "They're pretty cute names, actually. My main one's a little bear I, oh so imaginatively, called Yogi."

"Yogi!" Weiss cackled, sitting up and grinning at her earnestly. "That's fantastic! Mr. Flopsy has been around forever, and I named him because of the floppy ears, so same. Brrr, though…"

And for whatever reason, her ears turned the tiniest bit more pink. This would not have been noticeable had a person not spent very much time with the young diva. Tilting her head, Yang asked, "What about him?"

"He's named after the Cowardly Lion. Well, the name he had in Maguire's derivative works." She still looked embarrassed to be admitting this, but she also wasn't meeting Yang's eyes.

"Oh, the _Wizard of Oz_ , huh?" Yang shrugged her shoulders. "Only ever seen the old movie, so I never knew that. It's kind of cute, actually."

More blushing, more awkwardness. "Y-yeah. I, um…" She scratched behind her head as she went on. "I was breaking a lot of our house rules by reading the Wicked Years, but my parents never figured out they were anything less than 'family oriented', so…"

Of course. Weiss had nothing of value when it came to family life. She had them, apart from a mother, just like she and Ruby did; but they were not active in her life aside from their careers. If Weiss wasn't who she was, Yang was fairly sure they would probably never speak. Taking a bold risk at last, Yang breathed in, licking her lips in preparation. She was fairly sure she could ask about this now, but was still worried she would be overstepping.

"What was your mom like?"

Though her mood did clearly take a step down, Weiss was still smiling vaguely. "Not really sure. I know I loved her, and remember her being really warm and kind… a little funny, though of course I didn't know that. I was too young to understand her humour." Almost as if on autopilot, her hand reached behind her and dragged Mr. Flopsy into her lap. "And I don't remember a lot about her death, or funeral. I was too little to appreciate what was going on. One day, Mommy was here, the next… my father was the only parent I had."

Staring blankly at the rabbit again, Yang listened intently to every word. She knew how it felt, to some degree. Although she could remember quite well what things were like when her mother figure passed. Even at five, there were vivid memories in her head of her crying about it, hugging her father; they even got their first dog, Ein, as a distraction from it. But Weiss had no strong memories at all of her? It was a completely new world…

But she did notice the instinctive pulling in of the rabbit, and guessed it was the last thing her mother had given her. Not much, but enough to serve as a reminder. "Was she at least less uptight than your dad on the religion stuff?"

"Not really. I mean… maybe? I don't remember her yelling as much when I did something wrong, if that's what you mean." Glancing over, she asked, "What about your parents?"

Shrugging her shoulders, Yang allowed herself to lay back by her side, face ending up at the same position as Weiss's hips as she stared up at the ceiling. "I was raised by just dad from age six and up, Ruby from age three. He's a great dad, always supportive, would do anything for you, especially if it was to cheer you up. I wish I'd have come out sooner to him, to be honest. But… yeah, he’s still kind of a… _dad_ about some things. Stick in the mud."

Idly twiddling her thumbs against her stomach, she continued, "My birth mother, I never knew. She sorta left me with dad and vanished. But my mom, Ruby's birth mother, was great as well. She'd bake cookies, chase us around the house, let us stay up till late, the works. But, when I look back at losing her, I don't really feel sad about it. I'm more happy that she was in my life, y'know?"

Weiss leaned over and nestled her chin in the crook of Yang's neck and shoulder, hoping to give them both comfort. "In that case… then so am I." Then she snorted. "Neither of my parents ever let me stay up late, and my mom burned her cookies. Pretty much every time. Could never get the hang of taking them out in time to be crispy without being blackened. She did make an exquisite _omelette du fromage,_ though…"

Nodding, Yang continued to stare outwards into nothing, trying to gather her thoughts. At the very least, she was glad Weiss had a good relationship with her mother, even if she wasn't there for too long. The problem was just her father, and Winter.

"Hey, can I ask? What's Winter's problem? Has she always been… _Winter?"_

Pursing her lips, Weiss laid the rabbit aside as she popped up from the bed and paced over to her bookshelves, tracing an index finger along some of the spines. Restless now.

"Winter… changed when our mother passed. She was kinda spoiled before that, but happy enough. She turned very quiet for a couple years. When she came back from her Fortress of Solitude, she was… _serious_ all the time. That's the only good way to describe it. There was no such thing as 'fun' with her anymore."

"So she didn't exactly cope very well," Yang commented, still staring upward and twiddling her thumbs for now. “Serious” was the understatement of the century when it came to Winter. Controlling, pretentious, nosy… those were what Yang would use, especially after their last meeting in New York.

Which she remembered Weiss still knew nothing of. Telling her wouldn't exactly hurt now, not with it being this long and still no response from her; but it would do no good either. At least now she was understood why she was the way she was a little more clearly.

"I guess… she's protective, right? Going about it the wrong way, doesn't wanna show it, but that's how she seems to me. Like she’s totally focused on making sure you and her family are okay."

"Protective? What do you mean?" Then she turned around, a white-and-cream coloured book with a portrait of a green woman in a black hat in the centre of the front cover in her hands.

“Nothing. Just why she was such a jerk to me; trying to make sure I wasn’t some kinda ‘spy’.”

"Ohhh, that annoying thing with her demanding to know why you weren't on Facebook a few years ago. Yeah, to her that's just good business, I guess. I am sorry if she bugged you about it the way she bugged me, though."

"Nah, it’s fine," Yang lied, finally rolling onto her front so she could look toward her at the other side the room, resting her head in her hands to keep it upright. It wasn’t fine, but there was no use complaining. "But even if she found my old account, there's nothing of interest on there. Just a tonne of pictures of the bike, that kinda stuff."

It was actually visible when the wheels clicked in Weiss's mind. "OH! That's because before, you would have been-" Her hand slapped her forehead. "I'm such an idiot, why didn't I put that together?"

Rolling her eyes, she reached down into her pocket to retrieve her cellphone. If anything the fact that it never clicked was a good thing, it meant Weiss really did care more about her rather than who she was before, or could have been if she never transitioned. "I think there's like, one, maybe two photos? Honestly can't remember. But I can find it, if you want?"

"No, no, it's okay," Weiss assured her gently. "Ruby showed me a few already, and… and I don't want to bring up anything that might be difficult for you."

Pausing for a moment, she looked back over, finally forcing herself to sit back upright again. Back a month ago, it would have done, she would have expected Weiss to judge her based upon that information. But now, it was a different story entirely. She knew Weiss wouldn't.

"I trust you, if you want to, that is."

Smiling a cautious smile, Weiss laid the book on its shelf and walked back over to the bed, sinking down next to her girlfriend. Her legs crossed, and she bobbed her ankle nervously as she waited for the pictures to come up.

Quickly searching up the old name, she managed to find the profile right away, and headed straight into the photos. Just as she explained, none of her were added by herself. That folder was full of bikes and Zwei. Apart from the one, of the outfit Blake bought her.

"We'll… leave that one till after, but…"

Then into the tagged photos, she managed to finally find one which was of her and her alone, but it was far before anything. Baggy clothes, short, yet shaggy hair, even a hint of stubble on the chin. Apart from the face, it truly looked nothing like the Yang she was now with – yet it did. Like a twin brother, not the same person.

"Trippy, huh?"

"Yeah." There was a cautious amusement in her smirk; she wanted to try pushing past walking on eggshells around this topic, now that she had adjusted her way of thinking. "Your little brother Ying was cute. Not as cute as his sister, but… then again, I'm a little biased."

"What do you m- oh." At first it didn’t click for Yang, but then as she alowed herself an awkward smile, she scrolled through a couple more, some still with the bike. "Yeah, I suppose so. But, I'd say we've _both_ come a long long way, huh?"

Sliding both of her arms around Yang's bicep, she purred very quietly to show her pleasure at their nearness. "Definitely." Then she grinned down at the picture of Yang making a goofy face. "Such a dork."

"Hey, never grew outta that." And awaiting for when Weiss looked back up at her would be her girlfriend going completely cross-eyed, biting her top lip in addition.

"Maybe, but y- PFFFFFF!!" Weiss snorted when she caught sight of the face that was even goofier than the one in the picture. "Enough, you boob! Wow, how am I supposed to date you after seeing that?!"

Face returning to normal, she began to chuckle to herself, leaning against her side affectionately. "Hey, at least I wasn't the one who automatically assumed I knew kung fu first time we met!"

"You might as well, the way you took down the mugger and that psycho from the music store!" As she settled herself in Yang's lap, reaching up to press a kiss against her cheek, she sighed. "So. I know you might be anxious to get back to… wherever it was you lived before your job started, but what would you say to staying the night here? At least tonight."

"You just wanna bang like rabbits again." Yang cheekily grinned, not that she would say no to such a possibility. But when Weiss appeared serious about it, she raised an eyebrow. "You think they'd let me stay here tonight? Wouldn't they be funny about it?"

"Aren't you my bodyguard? What are they going to say, that you're doing your job?" Biting her lip, she blinked up at Yang mischievously. "Maybe I'll get you a little kimono; now I'm curious how it looks on you after all. One of those short ones so I can see those thighs…"

It was an interesting idea. Yang did like that style of clothing, not that she'd ever tried it herself. And the idea of Weiss buying it for her was certainly fun. However, there was a truth about it that she never brought up to Weiss at the time when she first made the remark, and now she had to laugh.

"You _do_ know that a kimono is a Japanese thing, right?"

"Well, yes. Of course I do." Then her eyes widened very slightly as she tried not to react too strongly to figuring out her misstep. "Aaaaand you aren't. Xiao Long is _Chinese_. Right, that's… I knew that." Her cheeks were pinkening as it sank in a bit deeper that she had not only been insensitive, but insensitive to her _girlfriend_.

Instead of snapping, Yang wrapped both arms around her, giving a small squeeze as she kissed her cheek. There were clearly no hard feelings about it. Instead, she went back to how she was when they first met. Teasing.

"Typical white girl, when will you learn?"

"Two steps forward, one step back," Weiss sighed in agreement. She knew Yang wasn't that offended, but she still felt foolish for having made such a misstep - especially now that she was dating someone from one of the two cultures she had mixed up. But it got her thinking: "Do… you have anything from your Chinese ancestry? I mean, not that you definitely should. I'm just curious now."

"Clothes-wise, you mean? Not really. I mean, Dad used to try a little bit but not that hard; he’s already second-gen." Shrugging her shoulders again, she stroked her arm idly. "He did offer to buy me a new _hanfu_ as soon as I came out, a nice feminine one, but I said ‘no’. Too much hassle, and at the time I thought I'd look pretty lame wearing it, still looking like a stubbly drag queen."

Nodding as she tried to digest this information that she knew nothing about, noting some terms to look up later, Weiss remained silent for a few seconds. Then she kissed Yang's neck.

"I don't care how much stubble you do or don’t have. You're still the most beautiful girl I've ever seen."

Smiling contentedly, she cuddled back up against her again. There were no more words to be said, all she wanted to do was enjoy as much company of her girlfriend as she could before she had to go home; even if that time would be extended by her stopping overnight.

At least, that's what they assumed for now. Even as a knock on the apartment door broke their tranquil moment.

"Ugh," Weiss sighed as she stood up from the bed, heading toward the door. "Sorry, I hope you don't mind following me in there and sitting on the couch? Appearances and all that."

"Nah. Want me to be reading a book or something? So it looks like I've just been casual?" She asked, following just as she was asked.

Nodding, she said, "Keep your phone out. That's good enough."

As Yang settled in on the couch, she let out a very typical, "Alright, alright, I'm coming!" that sounded a lot more like the Weiss Yang had first met than the one she knew intimately now. Then she strode up to the door, looked out the peephole - and let out a sigh of disgust.

"Speak of the devil.”

“Winter?" she asked, scrolling through her phone to appear as if she'd been doing it all along, crossing her legs to give a 'make yourself at home' impression.

"You got it." Yanking open the door, she put her hands on her hips and said, "Yes?" without so much as an actual greeting or a smile.

"Nice to see you're back. Pity you can't use a phone to tell us that though." Her older sister wasn't any kinder than the previous encounters, peering into the space behind her to notice Yang on the sofa. And despite her polite smile and wave, she still frowned. "I see… _she_ hasn't gone home yet."

"Why should she? Isn't she supposed to be protecting me?" Then Weiss relented, if only slightly. "And yes, I know it's mostly for just while I'm on tour, but there's nothing wrong with me enjoying her protection and company after we get back, is there?"

Bowing her head, she couldn't help but let out a small chuckle to herself. "Hmm, I wonder. Anyway, may I have a word with you? In private?"

There was quite the long pause while Weiss contemplated whether or not to pay any heed to her sister's request. Then she rolled her eyes, turned back to the couch and asked in a much kinder voice, "Would you mind?"

"So long as I can come back in a bit; you still owe me fifty. We totally _bet on the time we'd get back,_ right?" That was obviously exaggerated. She needed some kind of excuse to come back and spend the night rather than go home in that time. But as asked, she immediately got up, stepping out of the apartment once Winter moved to one side, calling back as she walked away, "Nice to see you as always, Winter!"

"Ugh…" Just as disgustedly, she rolled her eyes, walking into the room and shutting the door behind them both. And straight away, she took Yang's position on the sofa, crossing her legs and sitting upright. "So I see you're comfortable with… that bodyguard, aren't you?"

"Very," Weiss said warily, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "There was some… initial discomfort, and annoyance, but we resolved our differences."

"Impressive. But I'm not particularly sure that you should feel comfortable with them." Pulling out her own cell phone, she brought up a few pages she had pre-loaded. "I found out what Yang is hiding. If you can call them that."

"Oh, have you?" Weiss said with a smirk, finally sitting herself down in one of the chairs across from the sofa. Seemed she didn't even want to share the couch with her abrasive sister.

Turning the phone around, she displayed one of the photos up from Yang's older profile. The one which she quickly slipped by of the outfit Blake had first bought for her. No doubt it was the one that made the changes most obvious, since she was appearing to look feminine without the surgeries or hormones. It was easy to see why she slipped by as well, considering the comments were still visible at its side.

But those weren't what she was going to talk about. "Your bodyguard isn't who she says she is. _She_ is actually a _he._ Probably paid for all these surgeries just to get close to you. Sure fooled me."

Weiss looked at the pictures, out of passing interest. Some of them were ones Yang had literally just shown her, a couple that Ruby had on previous occasion. The one of Yang mid-transition… it was a bit uncomfortable for her to see her girlfriend stuck halfway between where she started and where she wanted to be, but most of her discomfort was second-hand. She felt sad Yang was ever in that in-between - and ever had to put up with people making rude observations about her. It curdled her stomach.

Very briefly, she considered feigning shock and awe at this revelation. That would help preserve their secrecy in regards to the relationship, after all. But would that make her happiest? Would that be the most honest and the most honourable thing to do?

No.

"What's your point?"

"I know, disgusting isn't i- … what?"

How on earth did such a calm, peaceful response act like a slap in the face? Not only did it make Winter aware that Weiss either knew already, or just didn't care, but it made her look like a fool. Slowly, she began to draw the phone back toward her, having to clear her throat to buy some time to think of what to say.

"What's… what's my _point?!_ Don't you think it's wrong?! She's been lying to us about who she… he… IT is!"

"Actually, _she_ told me," Weiss delivered in a flat tone. She was tempted to be spiteful, or even brag about knowing this. In the end, that seemed like it was in poor taste. "But it's really none of our business. I mean, have you _seen_ her? She's definitely a woman now, one way or the other."

"Hello! Earth to Weiss, she is a _man_ \- stuffing a bra and wearing a wig!" Winter raised her own voice. She'd rehearsed this scene a million times in her head, but all her arguments depended on Weiss being as equally disgusted as her. Yet she didn't mind, didn't care. How? "Fine, I'll admit she’s… really good looking, for a drag queen. But that’s what she is. All this time, you've been cohabitating with a _crossdresser_ , and you've been okay with it?!"

Now, of course, Weiss was beginning to get extremely offended - but all of that anger was on a personal level that she could not use against her sister. Not without her figuring things out.

"You assume too much. Her hair and breasts are not fake, I can assure you; when I asked about them, she let me see." One index finger came up, as if she were instructing a small child. "However! That wasn't something I had any right to demand her to prove to me! Just because she used to be male - or rather, identify as male - doesn't mean I get to inspect her current body like she's a car that just came back from the shop! She's a _person_ , Winter!"

Winter was beginning to realise that simply saying he was evil wasn’t going to work. "This man is mentally ill – and needed help! Not surgery or playing dress up, but real, psychiatric help! Why are you so defensive over-"

But there was one solid clue that had already answered her question. Plain as day, on the side of Weiss's neck, a particularly large area was bruised. And not just a bruise from falling over or being grasped firmly; a hickey. A love bite.

Time seemed to slow down as the pieces came together. That day she first came in to inform Weiss there was no info on her new bodyguard, they were in the same bed. And then there was New York, where Yang was staring at what Weiss was doing rather than guarding her dressing room… All this time, they had never been apart, and the majority of that time was behind closed doors. Weiss and Yang, her precious little sister and some gender-bending bodyguard…

They were sleeping together.

"…I see."

"Good," Weiss said, assuming her sister's words were in reference to what she'd said before rather than her intenral revelation. "Then I trust we won't have to revisit this issue again? I am more than satisfied with Yang, both as a bodyguard and a human being. She has already foiled two attempts to exploit me or injure me, and doesn't stink up the bus with cheap aftershave. The rest is none of my business, and _certainly_ none of yours."

Winter's head was still spinning with this new revelation. There was no way her little sister would listen to her, not now that bodyguard had her claws firmly dug into her darling sibling. Even if she never understood, if _nobody_ ever did, she just wanted to protect Weiss. That was her only goal. And now it was foiled. And so much worse could come of this. What if people found out? Weiss would be a laughing stock, a disgrace to their family name for dating a woman – or whatever he was. The more she thought, the worse things were getting

Then there was the viral video of the two to deal with as well. If she didn’t act soon it would be too late. She would have to deal with this problem at the source. Rising from her seat, she tucked the phone back into her pocket, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"That… was all I came to tell you about. Oh, that and… a more positive note in regards to August, unless you'd rather hear that from father?"

Satisfied and mildly surprised that Winter had given up so easily, she asked, "No, go on - what's happening in August?"

"The California Beach Fest wants you to headline. Along with Neptune, Neon, and the other big names. Biggest festival in the country, televised worldwide, the works…"

She was saying it so numbly, still trying to keep herself calm, when her inner dialogue was doing so much worse. She wanted to scream and yell, anything. But no, she had to come up with a plan to take out Yang first. And it needed to be done calmly and quietly.

"With- WHAT?!" Weiss burst out, jaw nearly hitting the floor. "Are you _serious_ right now?! Oh my f- all of us, doing one big show?! This is _huge,_ I can't even- holy _hamburgers_ , I have to call…" She had been about to say "Yang," but thought better of it. "I have to call everybody I know - this is insane, I can't believe this is happening!"

"I take that as a yes, then," was all she could say, already beginning to head to the door. She wasn't even going to stay and celebrate with her. "I'll let father know. Oh, but he'll still want to talk to you about that video, by the way."

Rolling her eyes, she said, "Yeah, yeah, the video. I can't believe you would come down on Yang so hard after seeing she can play the guitar like that. Seriously, is there anything that girl CAN'T do?!" But then she was dashing over to the dining room table and snatching up her phone, scrolling through her contacts to brag about her newest career development.

"Yes, I suppose so… good day, Weiss."

The more her little sister went on about her, the more Winter’s stomach was turning. And as she finally left the room once Weiss was dialing the first number, all she could think about was the next course of action. What she'd need to do, need to say when she next saw Yang.

How she could break the two apart for good.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: Hanfu, strap on bj, dirty pictures, roleplay, jerking off, analingus
> 
> ALSO: This chapter ends on a cliffhanger.

**=Chapter 19**

"California Beach Fest?! That's the biggest pop concert in the country, pretty much! Like Coachella with less weed! And they want you _headlining_ with all those other stars?"

Yang had been back a fair while, getting herself ready for bed at Weiss's. She'd unpacked a few things from her luggage in the van; clothes, laptop, toiletries for her stay - even if she wasn’t sure how long that was going to be. Not that she wanted to leave at all, no way. She wished she could stay in her diva's company forever.

"Isn't it fabulous?" Weiss called back from the room. As it so happened, she also had a little something she had purchased online and had sent to her rooms. From a site that promised discreet packaging. Luckily, she got so much mail from so many sources that she knew no one would disturb any of it until she arrived back home; there was a secret pseudonym she used to order things that security knew to check. If the package said it was for “Kara”, it was clear.

"And imagine," the delighted diva went on, satisfied with dropping a silk handkerchief on top to disguise its presence should anyone decide to go snooping. "From now on, fans of those other acts who haven't heard me before will ALL be at least looking me up on YouTube - even if not all of them end up liking my stuff, it's better than never having heard it in the first place!"

"Right? Make you a household name and all that shit! First this, then you'll be appearing on the really big talk shows, then like… movie deals! Your own perfume! Sky’s the limit!" She gazed into the full-length mirror on the back of the bathroom door, finally satisfied with her presentation. Earlier, when Winter had asked her to leave, she used the chance to dash off to a certain store he had visited once, a long time ago, to fetch an extra surprise for Weiss, or even just for herself. Something that would make her feel beautiful.

All that was left was to show her. She swung open the doors, waiting for her girlfriend to turn around.

"Actually," Weiss began as she turned down the sheets so they could slip under them soon, "I did get a call from Ellen once before, and she was so nice! But she put me on standby; I mean, I wasn’t well-known enough to be a main guest, so I didn’t really expect to go on or any… anythi… _ohhh."_

She had turned around to see Yang framed in the doorway, wearing something she had never expected. Her mouth ran dry and her heart sped up as she stood weakly by the bed, head spinning very slightly.

The subject they had been talking about earlier had resurfaced on the powerful form of Yang Xiao Long. She was dressed in a beautiful _ruqun hanfu,_ which was a long-sleeved wrap-around blouse covered by a flowing skirt beginning just beneath the bust, held in place by a sash with ribbons dangling down to mid-calf _._ Usually, her go-to colour was a sunny yellow, but in this dress, she had gone for something more feminine than usual, a soft lavender shade with purple trimmings. It just brushed the carpeting very slightly as she moved this way and that, giving Weiss a generous view of its finery.

"And the best part is…" She gave a cheeky wink as she approached the bed. "I'm not wearing anything underneath. Hot, amirite?"

Weiss's hand pushed down for the mattress, trying to find purchase to hold herself up. Much to her sudden and complete humiliation, she missed, and crashed to the floor with a resounding _THUD!_

“Whoa!” Yang gasped.

"Ah! Ow!" she grunted, rolling over slightly. "I'm alright, I'm alright! Just… give me a minute!"

"Holy shit, it's not _thaaat_ amazing!" Yang laughed quite hard. She could see clearly her lover wasn't hurt, so wasn't all too worried about collecting her. If anything it just made her laugh even louder. "I don't think I've ever seen your jaw hit the floor like that!"

Normally, by that point the diva would have jumped up and started swearing at Yang for being so rude when she was hurt - even if it was more her pride wounded than her body. This time… she was too awestruck. Every bolt of silken thread, the translucent scarf that draped over each of her arms, and the slightly more modest hairstyle that Yang had forced her wild blonde locks into for the purposes of completing the look… all was stunning. And her practiced eye could tell it was made of the finest silks.

"Oh, Yang," she finally was able to whisper as she pushed herself up to a kneel. "You look… so, _so_ beautiful."

Bringing her arms in nervously, she hunched her shoulders once again. "You really think so?" Part of the reason she'd never purchased one before was down to worrying how it would look, she never thought she would appear feminine enough. But now, her confidence was starting to grow, even if she was blushing a bright red from Weiss's positive remarks.

"I…" Her hands went palms-up helplessly as her eyes began to mist over. "Just, I thought it might be kind of cute on you, or… or sexy? But this is a totally different thing. You look like… a _painting._ " For a few seconds, she knelt there like a penitent parishioner, shaking her head back and forth with her hands clasped together, pressed up against her lips. She had been rendered speechless, which was a rare thing, indeed.

Beginning to loosen up herself, she paced over to Weiss, holding a hand out to help her back to her feet. But the smile on her face was undying, in fact it just grew to a beaming grin instead. "I'm really glad you like it. I did wonder if I should get yellow but… this went with my eyes better, I think."

Nodding, Weiss remained silent. There was something about Yang looking this way, so perfect, that made her not want to ruin everything with silly words. But she did allow herself to be pulled to her feet, and stood on them unsteadily as she looked her girlfriend - _her_ girlfriend, they were _together,_ she was fortunate enough - up and down.

"Yeah… your eyes…" Her hand finally came up to touch the hanfu, but at the last second it switched to cup her cheek instead.

Instinctively, Yang began to lean her face into the affections, looking down and into her own girlfriend’s eyes, as well. A month, an entire month of calling this woman her girlfriend. The woman of her dreams. How did she manage to get so lucky herself?

Instead of questioning it, she leaned in toward her, pressing their lips against one another. Her own hands fell to Weiss's hips, keeping her steady against her body.

And with a small sigh like a mewling kitten, Weiss returned the kiss. Maybe she had been taking Yang for granted until that moment; probably because when they met, she was "only" a bodyguard, and one she had no interest in meeting, at that. True, she had come to appreciate her so much more in the time since then, and had slowly chipped away at her reluctance to date a woman - and to see Yang as one in the first place. But now that she had taken such great strides in those areas…

 _'I can't believe I'm kissing this goddess!'_ her mind squealed as her hands slid up Yang's back, tilting her head; she even felt one of her feet leave the floor and rise half a meter. Like a girl in a movie. Yang was not only a warm, loving person, and a budding guitarist, she could go from a casual bruiser to a princess with a single costume change; a literal Mulan.

There was a slight chuckle mixed in with her kisses. Hands grasped at her own dressing gown she had worn to bed instinctively, but showed a desire for more. More of her lover. As if an entire tour wasn't enough time already! It really wasn't. Nothing was enough.

Even if the pace of their kiss was slow and intimate, at times Yang would manage to trap Weiss's bottom lip between her own, just as she did in their first kiss. A gentle reminder of how far they'd come. Tonight was a night where that journey was highlighted more than ever, given their location.

Which did not escape the diva, not for a minute. When Yang backed her up slowly and she hit the bed, she hit HER bed. The real one that she called home whenever possible, the one she chose out of preference rather than necessity. Her private room, where her girlfriend was going to be.

But she was being laid on her back, as per usual. Given the bottom position. That would have been fine any other night, but not this one. Not now.

"W-wait," she breathed shakily as she broke the kiss. "Yang, I… I have another plan for tonight, if that's okay?"

Tilting her head, Yang gazed for a moment, still positioned between her hips as if they were about to do things as normal, with Weiss in the missionary position. Not seeming to realise, she just smirked and whispered, "You wanna pop some popcorn and watch a movie?"

"No. Not that."

Both hands reached up and took Yang's strong biceps, privately shivering at how good they felt but suppressing that for the evening. _'Another time,'_ she told herself. Then she shifted her weight heavily, moving Yang's amenable body and rolling both of them so that Yang was suddenly splayed out underneath her.

There was a squeal of surprise when their positions were shifted, and in such shock, both of Yang's arms ended up either side of her head. A literal picture of grace, even if she was now being straddled by the woman of dreams. Not willing to do anything but stare upward, and begin to grow more and more aware of Weiss's positioning against her growing warmth below, she softly smiled.

"So you want to ride me then, huh? Also very good."

Weiss's blush was so complete that she might as well have had a sunburn. "Um… in a manner of speaking." Before she went on, she cleared her throat and said, "You're the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen, and tonight, I want you to feel like… like a princess. The way you already look. Just let me take care of you. I'm probably making this sound stupid instead of like something you'd actually want to do, but…"

"Hey, hey…" This time she was a lot calmer rather than teasing, reaching one hand up to cup her cheek this time. "I know this is the first time you've seen me… _really_ girly, I guess? And if you want to do anything special because of it, that’s cool. I’m completely okay with letting you, um… ‘treat me like a lady’, or whatever."

But the younger woman was shaking her head, grasping Yang's hand and kissing the wrist. "Thanks for comforting me. But you don't have to be my big strong bodyguard right now - as much as I love that. Right now… you're my _princess_."

At the tail end of her words, there had been a very slight firmness. Not dominant, not harsh… just an unflappable confidence that Weiss only seemed to have when delegating tasks to her makeup team, or working on anything related to her music career. This time, she wanted to take care of _everything_.

Shrugging her shoulders, she let her hand fall to the side of her head again, turning her head to one side as she looked back up to her. She seemed determined to try and look like some kind of pinup girl in the magazines, anything to keep her diva happy. And that was clear when her smile softened again.

"Then prove it, _lover girl."_

There was a shudder and a groan from Weiss as she gazed down at her elegantly-dressed girlfriend. The soft, flawless fabric wrapped around her body was somehow the biggest aphrodisiac they had shared thus far. Why did it matter?! Part of her worried that she had some new cultural fetish, but she didn't think that was it; after all, she had never truly pictured Yang in a kimono - or kimono-like Chinese dress, since that was more accurate - even just walking around, let alone during a bedroom romp. It was that the dress honestly looked so deliciously flattering and feminine on her that she couldn't help herself.

Between Weiss's legs, she attempted to part her own, nudging Weiss's further apart so they could press against one another more firmly, or at least so Weiss could shift herself to be between Yang's legs instead of straddling her. That was how this would work, right? All the times before, Weiss had been on the bottom, or they were standing up, or maybe just side by side. This would be a new experience for her just as much for Weiss.

And Weiss did ride her for a few seconds, enjoying the curious sensation of how soft she was at the moment. Inflaming her own desires. But then she reached up a hand to cup Yang's neck as she gazed down upon her, still in awe.

A couple of thoughts came to her. Firstly, the one she had been thinking earlier when she opened the mail; that was of course _very_ fortunate now that she saw Yang looking so princessly. Secondly… an excuse to take her away from Yang's irresistible body long enough to put her plan into action.

"Do you…" Gulping, she whispered, "Can I take your picture? Either standing up, or… j-just like this." The last had been added with some significant blushing.

It really was Yang's turn to feel like the star. All dressed up in the finest silk, sprawled out on the bed and looking like a porcelain doll, someone wanting to take her picture… someone _wanted_ a sexy picture of her. That in itself was the most flattering thing of all to her.

"As many as you want." She smiled. "Where do you want me?"

Almost stumbling in her haste to get up from the bed, Weiss said, "St- stay right there!" and dashed to her dresser, where she had left her phone. Coming back, she tapped the screen and brought up the camera app, then shyly asked, "C-can you stand up? I just want one of you wearing it first; one I can show other people someday."

"Oh, yeah sure!" In truth, this sounded like a picture she'd want for herself, as well; something she could send on to her father for his opinion, and Ruby for hers. Maybe even for her Facebook profile. Quickly hopping up from the bed and tucking her unruly hair back behind her ears, she tried to flatten it as much as possible again. Not that it was exactly as neat as it was when she first appeared. Holding her hands together, she looked to Weiss's direction. "Like this?"

Smiling softy, Weiss turned back to the dresser and picked up one of her brushes, running over to make a few quick passes to flatten Yang's hair. Nothing too elaborate. Then she drew back, holding her breath.

"One day…" she promised as she held up her phone, tapping the screen a few times as she walked from side to side. "One day, we are going to do your makeup, too. Not that you need any at all, but… oh my GOD."

If anything, Yang's real blush was serving as more than enough rouge for her face as she turned this way and that, giving whatever kinds of angles to the camera she wanted. Some looking up, some looking down. And one she couldn't resist making the same goofy face as earlier. But every one had a beaming smile.

"Finally everything I want to be," she muttered to herself, glancing down at her body again. She really did have the figure for it after all.

For just a second, Weiss lowered the phone, having caught that whispered phrase in the nearly-silent room. She walked forward and leaned up to press both lips against Yang's cheek.

"You already were. This is just… a really nice dress," she finished with a watery smile. "Now… sit on the edge of the bed for me."

Nodding, she did just as she was told, propping herself on the edge of the bed and holding her hands together on her lap. Deciding to go for a more dignified pose. Then she crossed one leg over the other, lowering her head slightly. "Liiiike this?"

Pursing her lips for a moment, Weiss snapped a picture, then said, "Now uncross."

As commanded, she uncrossed her legs, resting her hands on the edge of the bed as well and looking to the side and upwards. A variety of different shots for Weiss's growing gallery.

"Okay, now…" She darted forward and posed Yang herself, placing both hands on her lap, one on top of the other. Then she switched them before drawing back and taking another picture. "Okay, and how about one looking right at the camera?"

"This is one for your lock screen, isn't it?" She was unable to help the beaming smile on her face. It had been years since someone had been this pleased by taking photos of her, and the first time she herself was comfortable enough to be in them. But doing as asked, she tried to soften her smile to a more flattering one, looking right into the camera just as asked.

There were several more taps of the screen as Weiss moved very slightly, hoping to catch just the right angle. Then she whispered, "You are… impossible. You're not real, you can't be."

Yang had caught that just in her hearing, and if anything, it made the blush only come out even more, and her smile to get a little bigger just as Weiss clicked the camera again.

“Fuck. Almost make a girl feel like you wanna date her.”

“Silly.” She reached forward to tilt Yang's head upward with her fingertips, but when their eyes met, she took her hand away quickly, smiling a guilty smile. "Sorry… when you've been through as many photoshoots as I have, I guess you start to turn into a photographer yourself."

But Yang only used that moment to steal a quick kiss on the lips instead, before immediately returning to exactly how Weiss positioned her. "Then I'm glad to have such an attractive photographer, doofus."

"Hey! Princesses don't call people 'doofus', do they?" Folding her arms, the pop star contemplated what else to do, but decided the time had come at last. "Alright, lie back on the bed. I want to get a few… creative shots."

"Oh but my darling, I'm not that type of girl!" She put on a high pitched voice for that comment, but just as she was asked, she shifted herself back on the bed again, laying back fully. Just as she did before when Weiss first straddled her, she laid her hands up either side her head, tilting her head to one side and keeping her gaze toward the camera. Her legs came together as well, keeping an elegant, demure pose.

Though it was about the fifth time during their impromptu "cover shoot", Weiss again held her breath and paused to simply gaze upon the beauty before her. Yang was everything she ever wanted, in multiple ways. Then she snapped a few shots from a few angles before she turned her hips to one side, nodding approvingly when Yang's knees bent automatically.

"Yes," she muttered as her fingertip took a few more pictures. Yang bit her lip and looked away like she was ashamed, and Weiss felt her pulse skyrocket – what was _that_ about?! "Ooh, these are really good…"

"You know, I really am starting to feel like some kind of model doing all this," she commented, following each of Weiss's commands and movements every time she posed her, sometimes glancing toward the camera, and sometimes off into other directions. Weiss was in control, and Yang trusted her to make her feel good. "Hmm… Model, Guitarist, Bodyguard… That really is an odd mix of careers I now have."

"Well, I knew you were something special. It keeps surprising me anyway, though…" Then she finally pulled back. A very secret, very mischievous smile began spreading across her lips as she said, "Alright, now… if you don't mind, I'd like for you to turn over onto your hands and knees, close your eyes… and promise not to peek."

Yang raised an eyebrow questioningly. "Now I know _that_ isn't gonna be a dignified pose… What's up with that?"

"I'm setting up for something else, but I need a moment." When Yang still looked at her like she was going to say "Mmmmhmmm," Weiss shooed at her with her free hand and said, "J-just do it! I promise it'll be worth your time!"

"Fine, fine, whatever!" Even though she was continually grinning in delight, she did as she was asked. After-all, she was supposed to be keeping to the role of princess tonight. _Weiss's_ princess. Her turn to call the shots on every aspect.

Just for her cheekiness, Weiss couldn't resist reaching out and smacking Yang's plump ass, and she yelped. "How dare you defy me!" she said in a teasing tone… before walking away from the end of the bed.

She kept giggling to herself still, never once moving as she waited eagerly. Even whistling to herself to try and keep distracted. Then, however… there came the sounds of a drawer opening. Items inside shifting back and forth. A muttered curse and a slight stumble, but not a heavy fall like an entire body hitting the floor.

Certainly not the sounds that anyone would expect of the girl who looked graceful in every image that ever existed of her. That was the true beauty of her girlfriend, Yang thought to herself. She was perfectly imperfect. Before when they first met, even if it was taunting and getting on each other's nerves, Weiss was intimidating to the blonde bruiser, intimidating because she always thought of her as a perfect, elegant figure who could never do a thing wrong. But now, she knew so much more. She knew things no one else would, like that she was a klutz at times, and that she would get flustered and blush very easily if the right things were said. Everything Yang knew, it was all hers. And only hers.

Which was why she was so eager to see what she had in store. "Come on, or are you leaving me high and dry?"

"Of course not!" Weiss yelped, finally approaching again, bare feet on carpet not helping signal her approach. But she walked around to the front of the bed and crawled up onto the pillows, so that she was seated just in front of Yang, her voice quieter now that she was closer. "Stay… just like that. No peeking. Now purse your lips."

Shrugging her shoulders again, she did just as she was asked, pursing her lips outward…

From that close, she could actually hear the tapping on the phone screen. "Ooh… good. These are cute. Okay, one more pose before you can open your eyes. Open your mouth, but just like… a little bit. Like I just told you something surprising, but not too shocking, like… that I'm flying us to Miami for a little beach fun."

"So like a gasp kinda look? More pouty than jaw-on-the-floor, like you were when I walked in? Alright." As asked, she opened her mouth to that shape, keeping her eyes shut all throughout.

There was some slight shifting on the bed. "There, good." A phone tap. As she spoke, Weiss's voice began to raise higher and higher overhead. "Good, good… and now, your surprise!"

The next second, there was a cold, soft rubbery material pressing up against Yang's lips.

"HMHMM?!" Because they were slightly parted, whatever Weiss had just slipped into her mouth. Eyes snapping open, she had to see for herself what it was to be sure she was feeling it right in her mouth. But the sight before her was only making her eyes widen even more and more.

Hitched around her girlfriend’s waist was a black harness, and in the centre of the harness, right above her soft blue panties, was something neither of them had quite got around to discussing: a _cock_. That is, an artificial one, made of a deep ice-blue rubber.

A half-second after Yang had time to process what it was, Weiss bucked her hips very slightly forward, which pushed it another half-inch into Yang's mouth. There was another muffled call as Yang was forced to accept it deeper. God, it wasn’t small by any stretch of the imagination! But she made no attempt to resist whatsoever. In fact…

Was she relaxing? Her blonde bruiser's shoulders were visibly loosening up as she placed her hands down on the bed to balance herself as best she could, eyes instead beginning to flicker shut. It had been a while since Yang felt a phallus within her mouth. Even if this was artificial, she was going to give it her all. Swirling her tongue around the large girth as best she could, she pushed herself forward against it, parting her lips even more to take more of it in.

"O-oooh," Weiss breathed. When it was all the way deep inside Yang's throat, she stared in amazement at the lips pressed right up against the harness and whispered, "I, um… I didn't even know if you'd be interested, and hoped I didn't get the wrong thing… but wow, Yang! You're- it's like you didn't even have to _think_ about doing this! That’s incredible!"

But there was a downside to the larger model. Yang couldn't hold it there for long when she was so out of practice, and she probably wouldn't be able to handle any thrusting any time soon! Finding herself unfortunately gagging, she quickly drew herself back off the phallus again, having to look to one side to cough.

"S-Sorry…" She cleared her throat. But rather than leaving it completely, she held onto it with one hand, rubbing the length idly. "It's just been so long and… and gosh… you really did listen when I told you I liked it big, huh?"

Smiling awkwardly, the diva put the hand not holding her phone on her hip. "Well, not that I really know how big is 'big', but yes, I recalled that. There were some that were five inches and that seemed small, then some that were twelve, and that seemed… excessive. So I tried to aim somewhere more moderate." Then she smiled and asked, "You're sure it's good? That it's what you want?"

"Well… Now that you mention the twelve…" But the smug smirk on her face made it obvious she was kidding. Still, she never did she let go of the phallus. At least not yet. Instead, she only continued to stroke it up and down. Bringing her head forward, she pressed her tongue against the tip, starting to lick it tenderly, looking right into Weiss's eyes while doing so.

With the slow grace of a bending willow branch, Weiss's hand raised the phone up to point down at Yang, her thumb hovering over the screen. She wouldn't take one; not yet. Not until Yang had a chance to protest if she wished. But no protest came. Instead, she half closed her eyes to give a more sultry appearance, and aimed them toward the camera lens instead of her. Keeping her tongue still for a moment, it was clear for the image that it was to be licking the end.

So the picture was taken. And another, and another. Then Weiss began to push forward a little at a time, taking two more pictures along the way. When she was fully inside, she whispered, "Do you… like doing this? Want to keep going for a while?"

Taking it out of her mouth again, she whispered, "I don't mind," before taking it once more, sliding it in and out of her mouth gradually. There was no point to this exactly, it brought Weiss no pleasure, nor did it Yang. If she were honest, the taste wasn't exactly a benefit either, not compared to if Weiss had a cock of her own. But it was a show, a show for her lover to see, one that she’d never had before. It inflamed both of them for _that_ reason, at least.

"G-guess you do," Weiss half-laughed, half-panted. Clearly, it was doing something for her, at least; the show was entertainment of a very specific nature. Licking her lips, she flicked a few more times, and helped herself to a brief video clip. Watching Yang's mouth accept that length so readily was going to do for her what the pictures of Weiss did for Yang.

After a few minutes of servicing the fake phallus, she was satisfied with her work, and drew herself backwards and off it again. A small string of saliva still connected her mouth and the phallus as she looked back up again, having to pant to regain her breath. Returning her hand to the now soaking wet phallus, she asked. "Good enough for you, babe?"

Nodding eagerly, Weiss drew her upward and pulled her into a wet kiss, tangling their lips and tongues together gratefully. Then she pulled back and made a face. "Hmm… they didn't say on the website that it would have such an… interesting flavour."

Smirking eagerly, she ran her hands over Weiss's long white hair, looking right back into her eyes and pecking at her lips. "I dunno…" she said between kisses. "These taste far better."

"Mmm, agreed," she breathed eagerly as they kissed again, running one hand up and along Yang's chest. There was a yearning in the back of her mind, that the length between her legs would suddenly become real… so she could give Yang what she craved from a sexual partner. Alas, this was the best she could do.

"Alrighty," she sighed as she drew away from the lips. "Now… I want to use this thing, if you're willing."

"You wanna take me, do you?" she repeated, looking down toward it yet again. God it really was huge! In both girth and length. It was just what Yang said she liked, and frankly, all she could think about when she had it in her mouth. She struggled to take it there, but down where she was even tighter… things were about to get interesting.

Although there was one thing she needed to be sure Weiss had, and quickly looked toward the dressing table. "You have lube, right?"

"Oh! Yeah, there was… yeah!" She ran back to the table, the giant blue thing bobbing all over the place as she ran. Then she grasped a very small bottle from inside the drawer and ran back.

"It said it came with some, so I figured…" As they looked at it together, they realised it was probably only enough for two or three uses. "Oh."

Looking at both the packet, then the phallus, her blush was increasing yet again. Not only was the phallus so big it’d be hard for her to handle, but there wasn't much of it to spare. This would be such an experience.

"W-well…" She was completely red raw when she sat on her knees. "We'll have to make sure it’s enough. Stretch it with spit."

Biting her lip, Weiss raised the phone and took a picture of Yang's face. A slight snicker burst from behind her teeth. And realising why, she quickly snapped back up to her again, immediately lunging forward to try and grab it from her, laughing. "Hey! That was rude!"

"But you were bright red! SO adorable!" Weiss giggled, holding the phone away as much as she could. When Yang finally caught her hand, she wrestled back and forth until they were nose to nose, and then she simply leaned in and kissed her with grinning lips. And Yang kissed back with an equal amount of enthusiasm, feeling herself eventually fall back on the bed again with Weiss on top of her. But this time, her legs immediately parted to let her between them, and her spare hand went back around her waist as well to keep her there.

Such an action made her feel the cock pressed against her body however, right beside hers between layers of clothing. Weiss hadn’t seen it yet, but she was already at half her length from the actions of sucking it alone. Seemed it wasn't just Weiss that had been affected by the little show. Although… there was something to consider.

"Hey, Weiss?" She asked when she parted their lips again.

"Yeah?" she sighed, her hand coming up to pass gently over Yang's hair lovingly.

"Do you mind if… I take this off first? I don't wanna ruin it with… Y-y'know."

The diva's blue eyes slid away from Yang. "Well… I… was hoping we could leave it on…" As her cheeks turned pink, she whispered, "Could we take a f-few more pictures first?"

“WOW, you are shameless. And I thought I was the perv.” Still, she released Weiss's hand from her grasp, letting her do as she wished. But the very least she insisted on one thing: "Alright, but as long as I get no… _me_ on it, deal?"

"Oh, that would be-" But she fell silent, imagining it. And stayed silent. After a few seconds, her phone raised up to push into her bottom lip as her breathing grew quite a bit heavier.

Blinking as she looked up at her girlfriend stuck in that thought, Yang rolled her eyes impatiently. "Look, if you _really_ want to get me splooging all over a hanfu, wait till I buy another just for… uh, sexy purposes. This one is special."

"No, yeah. Yeah, of course." Shaking her head out, she pressed her hand against her face for a few seconds as she tried to dispel the mental images. Then she smiled down at Yang. "That idea might be sexy, but sexy ideas aren't more important than you. And I agree that this dress is breathtaking and deserves _way_ better; we don't have to take any more pics of you in this if you don't want to. Is…" Leaning in, she whispered, "Is it like, a religious thing? Am I really hugely blaspheming by asking you to do anything in it?"

Snorting rather loudly, Yang couldn't keep the humoured look off her face. Even when she let one of her hands rest on Weiss's knee for a moment, idly rubbing. "Do you really think I, a chick with a dick, am super religious? Nah, it's more like… a ‘brand new heirloom’ kinda thing, if that makes sense. Keeping the dress pure."

"Makes sense to me. But hey...” Playing coy again, she shifted her hips from side to side, causing her length to play across another one. "I'm a chick, and I have a dick. Just… mine's not an original component, that's all. And I still believe in God, so why not?"

"Why am I not religious?" Yang asked, but all while the other dick was pressing up against her own, she could feel the length beginning to grow… Slowly, but surely. Not to mention, it was starting to cause her breath to quicken. Eyes beginning to half close, she said back shakily. "T-this better not be… some type of conversion."

In a rare moment of sexual self-assurance, Weiss reached down and grasped both of Yang's hands, allowing her phone to go by the wayside for the moment. Dragging them up over her head, she then leaned down until they were nose-to-nose, gazing deep into her violet orbs.

"Well… I _was_ kind of hoping to make you call out His name. A few dozen times."

Sinking back into the plush surface of the bed, she looked wide-eyed up at her girlfriend. She had never been this dominant before in their sexual ventures. There had been one occasion in their 'romp day' at Penny's where she sat on top of Yang, but was never truly dominant in the situation. But this was completely different.

And she knew for a fact, if the strap on was going to be involved, she would certainly be blaspheming a lot tonight.

"You're terrible."

The diva’s blue eyes shone with mirth… and desire. "Try saying that tomorrow."

Then she took her mouth, and not gently; she was looking to enjoy herself. Let Yang take the more passive, submissive role tonight. Maybe that wasn't something Yang needed - maybe she was fine with being on top of Weiss most of the time. But she'd be damned if she didn't at least try out flipping their usual positions, at least this once.

But Yang was loving it. Their relationship was to become completely equal now, with her taking the role of top some evenings, and Weiss on top others. Tonight was the first trial run. And to show she was willing as best she could, she attempted to wrap her legs around the beautiful woman's hips, trapping their bodies against one another. With each roll of Weiss's hips, she felt the friction against her own, even with the fabric between them. All throughout their kiss, it caused muffled, but needy moans once again.

When they were both panting heavily, Weiss pulled back and said with a shaky laugh, "Okay, now we probably really should get this off of you before we… yeah, like you said."

Nodding weakly, she completely agreed, attempting to reach down between them to loosen the fabric around her waist first. Once that was off, she allowed Weiss to do the rest of the work. However she did look up teasingly. "Oh, be gentle with me, darling."

A sly smirk crossed Weiss's face as she reached over to snatch up her phone first. Then she dangled it above Yang, as if she would either drop it onto her stomach or was waiting for her to snatch for it.

But Yang didn't. She had gotten the message, and remained submissive throughout. If anything, she simply took it as another command.

"Fine, I'll do it myself." She begun parting the skirt now that the belt was off, she managed to shuffle it out from under them and onto the floor by their side. But the long-sleeved jacket-blouse beneath still had to be removed, and with two bodies on top of it, that was difficult. "I'll either need to sit up, or you'll have to help me here."

Thumb flicking over the screen, Weiss smiled sweetly. The last one with the telltale bump of Yang's partial arousal below the hem of the blouse was probably too appealing to her, but she loved it all the same. "Alright, alright. Let's stand you up and take care of this."

So they did, removing the undergarment and collecting the robe from the floor. Then Weiss spared Yang's nude body only the briefest of approving glances before she ran into the bathroom to collect the garment bag.

"This probably isn't very 'erotic'," she said to her girlfriend on the way back out, "but… it’s important, so I want to make sure we take care of this for you. And leaving it wrinkled on the ground isn't the best way to do that."

"Hey, it counts as pampering a princess, right? So it does something." Yang sat herself on the edge of the bed again as Weiss took care of the clothes. The delay between more pleasure served as a relief to her if anything. It meant there was more time to enjoy what was going to happen rather than finish too soon and end it so quickly. At least that was what Yang was sure would happen if things continued, judging by the rock hard length between her legs.

Once the garment bag was hanging from the door of Weiss's walk-in closet, she turned and leaned against the adjoining wall, hands in the small of her back and one foot raised to aside her knee, a positively malevolent look in her eyes as she smiled over at her princess. It pleased her to see both of them were equally erect - and given that her own was artificial, it was much more impressive on Yang.

"So, Princess," Weiss said in a bemused voice. "Are you ready to do what needs to be done for… the sake of diplomacy?"

Gosh, her diva really did like roleplaying. This was a lot more flattering than her prisoner role back on the bus, at least.

"Absolutely, oh great Prince." She wasn't as good as Weiss however, and whenever she spoke in her character, she didn't even notice her voice was getting higher pitched to the role. "I'm prepared for… our countries to unite just as our bodies will."

But Weiss wasn't judging Yang for the higher-pitched voice. In fact… her cheeks were darkening again, this time from being referred to with any sort of male pronoun. If anyone else had done that, mistaken her for a man, she would have been upset or angry at them - probably have thrown a fit. In this situation, and with it being Yang…

"W-wow," she breathed very quietly. Then she cleared her throat and said, "Then I'll come to claim your land and your virginity!" Crossing the room with light steps, she laid a hand on Yang's neck, then leaned in and whispered, "We don't have to keep doing the prince-princess thing if you're not interested; I was just playing around."

But Yang shook her head as she shrugged her shoulders, holding the wrist very gently and looking directly into her eyes back. "Let's keep going a little longer. Could be kinda hot… Unless you want me to call you princess instead of prince?"

"Normally, yes," she snickered, still a little shy about this particular arrangement of theirs. "But tonight… something about me being your 'prince'…"

There was only so long Weiss could look into Yang's gorgeous eyes before she had to lean in and kiss her, kneading their mouths together intensely. Her other hand came to rest on the soft, muscled hip, and she sighed in mild pleasure as she began to massage it gently with her fingertips.

She kissed back just as eagerly, humming contently all throughout as she pulled her right up against her, parting her legs once again to let her between them. She adored feeling her so close, especially when she felt the fake length against her own. That was beginning to send tingles of pleasure through her again.

When Weiss felt her shiver, she drew away from the kiss and looked down between them. All it took was looking at that glistening pink head to invigorate her, to make her so hot she wanted to abandon their play… but she was determined. This one night, she was going to take Yang hard and receive nothing in return.

"Look what we have here," she murmured, wrapping her hand around both of the thick lengths and beginning to stroke them together. It was a stretch for her smallish hand, but she managed. "The princess's royal sceptre."

A pleasured humming came out of Yang, and beyond her control, she threw her head back in content. Why was feeling her length against one made of plastic so very good? Because Weiss's hand was what was connecting them, her hand was stroking them both, and she could feel it pulling at her skin up and down. Perfect, in every way.

For the diva, of course, it was both the visuals of the show, and that she was making Yang feel so good that she was groaning and leaning back. By now, she was almost straddling her lover, gazing down upon the landscape of her body. A landscape she intended to paint upon.

But first, of course, there was another matter to tend. Retrieving her phone from the bedspread, she aimed and took two or three snaps of the two lengths together, leaving Yang's face and the rest of her body out of it. She knew that might be a bit more uncomfortable for her, and wanted more express permission before taking pictures that included both face and anatomy.

In truth, Yang never minded one bit. Because of who it was. It was her lover who was taking these pictures of her, catching her in various different poses, moods and states of pleasure. Even though at the present, Weiss was sticking to treating her member and taking pictures of it, she allowed herself to fall back onto the bed, her hands returning to the relaxed position on either side of her head.

"Do you like it?" she asked, looking straight toward her. "Is this what my prince loves to see?"

"Certainly is," Weiss sighed pleasantly, her hand relaxing so that the two phalluses would jostle slightly back and forth as she stroked. "Do you… mind if your prince keeps more memories of tonight?" Her other hand raised the phone. As Yang had been kind enough to crop out her eyes before, this was only fair.

Nodding she posed herself once more, relaxing her face to a mere, elated smile. Flicking a few strands of hair behind her ear, she looked toward the camera. "Of course, as many as you want."

And so Weiss took one with her hand all the way down, then another with it up so that it was visible in the shot. Her dirty mind wanted to fall downward and wrap her lips around both lengths - even though one of them was false, and strapped round her own waist. Ridiculous! But either way, that was not what this night was about.

"Alright," she breathed as she leaned down, wrapping her lips around Yang's perky nipple as she continued to grind their hips together, sighing against the large mound beneath her mouth.

And right away she moaned contentedly, hands reaching into Weiss's hair to keep her there. One hand grasped a handful of it, holding rather tightly to try and suppress her pleasure. She was so used to thinking that area of her body would never feel as sensitive as anywhere else on her body, but Weiss proved it otherwise. Each lap across her nipples, and occasionally against the scars beneath her breasts, was sending tingles and tingles of pleasures through her body. Just as much as feeling her hips pushing up against her was.

But as she wrapped her legs around the diva's body once again, she was starting to crave what she was imagining from the start, from when she first had the fake length pushed into her mouth. For Weiss to take her as a woman with it, just as she had taken Weiss time and time again the past few days.

Much later than Yang would have liked, she drew back from the teat, a string of saliva between it and her bottom lip. "Somebody's _very_ ready for this," she breathed, reaching down again to grip the length. "Aren't princesses supposed to show more… reluctance?"

Looking up at her through half closed eyes, she had to take a moment to catch her breath back, releasing her hair from her grasp. "I can't help it…" She breathed, squeezing her a little closer with her legs. "When my prince is so hard and ready… I grow impatient."

"Maybe I should just…" And then, only for about half of a single minute, Weiss began squeezing and pumping "Lao" harder than she ever had, as if she were racing to see how fast she could finish her off.

She should have expected it, should have expected for her length to be assaulted by the diva's skilled hand at some point this evening, but she didn't. She had her heart so set on Weiss taking her as a woman that it completely slipped her mind. And as Weiss pumped and squeezed, making her moan out loudly and repeatedly, she grasped at the bedsheets, trying to resist the incoming pleasure that was flowing through her body.

"W-Weiss!" she managed to moan out to her, trying to squeeze her closer again. "D-Don't you want… T-To claim me? W-With your strong member?"

Still grinning that wicked grin, Weiss completely let go at once - not slowing down or changing her stroke, just going from pumping hard to nothing at all.

"Oh, I'm going to do that either way, Princess Yang. But you said you were getting impatient…"

Suddenly there was nothing. From feeling Weiss almost sending her flying into orgasm, to nothing at all. All she could do was finally breath heavily against the bed, continuing to grasp at the sheets for something to do.

"Why be such a tease?" she asked, sounding ridiculously needy about it. "Why are you doing this to me? One minute giving me everything then the next making me wait again? It's driving me insane."

The smile slipped a notch. Weiss's hand went back to the cock and began to tease it very lightly this time. "I could always… do this first. If you really want it that badly." There was a bald honesty in her voice now, whereas before she had been taunting, mischievous. "And then take my princess afterward."

Seeing the hand return to her length sent yet more shivers of thrill up her spine. Now there was a thought… Would it even be possible for her to handle being gotten off, _then_ taken? It was fine the other way around, so there would be no difference, right?

Then again, she knew that was impossible. All partners before her would only do things until they came, then leave her to it. She suspected Weiss would be the same. But by now, she was so turned on it didn't matter if he wasn't taken anymore. She just wanted to get off.

"Hmm…" She hummed contentedly. And unable to resist, she nodded. "Do wh-what you need."

That phrase, "what you need"… again, Weiss had to fight down the urge to change their play, to slide down and use her mouth as well as her hands. But that was fun for another evening. Therefore, she backed up and kept their two lengths up against each other, gliding a hand up and down with about half of the pressure from before.

"How's that, my little princess?" she asked in an even, sensual tone, trying her best to sound a tiny bit masculine. "Good? Or do you need me to go harder? Faster?"

Yet again, Yang was purring with bliss, relaxing against the sheets again now that she didn't have to hold back anymore. One side of her had plastic against her length, the other was the warmth of Weiss's hand, fussing at her, toying with her. Each stroke sent shivers of pleasure down her body, making her ache for more.

"B-Both…" She requested.

Nodding eagerly, Weiss was again pumping at her the way she had before, tight and frenzied - only this time, the artificial cock was up against the real one, adding to the experience. She would be lying if she said this wasn't extremely erotic for her to watch, but her own pleasure could wait. For now, she just wanted to watch Yang explode from the extreme simulation.

And it wasn't long now! Not with both the speedy pumping and feeling it up against a new length. She could feel Weiss's grip tighten on her, squeezing and pumping incredibly hard, probably far harder than anyone had ever done in her life. Mouth hanging open in ecstasy, her moans were continuing to get more and more frenzied as well, to the point she even had to cover her mouth in case anyone heard.

"Awww," Weiss cooed, only the tiniest bit condescendingly. For the sake of this moment, their play. "Look at the demure little princess, stifling her sounds! Must not be doing my job right. Let's… try this!"

And then, she dug in with her thumb as she continued stroking as fast as possible, with it pressing directly into the underside of Yang's swollen cock without mercy.

Now she was back to the state of desperation she was first in, grasping tightly at the sheets with one hand, continuing to cover her mouth with the other. She was simply too afraid to do otherwise, too afraid of screaming so loudly she'd wake everyone in the building. That would simply be the worst way for the family to find out they were together.

But the quivers of her legs meant something Weiss could recognise easily. That she was getting very close, very soon. To help her over that final hurdle, Weiss leaned in and took the other peak in her mouth; she had been feeling guilty about only teasing the one, anyway. This seemed like a good opportunity to correct that oversight.

It worked. Shuddering even more violently, she yelled out loudly against her hand, feeling her muscles getting tighter in her stomach until finally the inevitable happened. Yet again her member throbbed in Weiss's hand, releasing seed out from it and upward. Up onto the bottom of Weiss's chin from where she leant down to take her teat, up against her chest and stomach.

Right after she finally relaxed, letting her hands return to either side of her face as she gasped for breath. From the passing orgasm, her eyes were still unseeing, still filled with pleasure. It was fantastic.

Smiling at having finished her job with great success, Weiss leaned down and kissed Yang's cheek tenderly as her hand slowed and came to an eventual stop. She could feel a slight fleck of essence on her hand, which reminded her of what she felt hit her chin. Her secret pleasure of having Yang on her face would not be fed, but at least it got its momentary squeal of internal glee.

"You made a messie," she chuckled as she finally pulled back from Yang entirely, laying on her side and staring down at the canvas spread out before her. The one that had been thoroughly painted. "But I like you like this."

Panting heavily, she only just looked over to her again, and then down to exactly what mess she had made. Not as much as on the bus, but a significant amount had dotted across her stomach and chest. They had certainly made the right move in taking off her _hanfu_ first.

"Do you…" She took another breath in, swallowing. "Want to take a memory of it?"

"Suppose I could…" Reaching over with her cleaner hand, she nipped up the phone and took one from the side, biting her lip as her own sex pulsated with lust from watching that spectacle, from thinking about having proof of it forever. Then she held her arm out and took another from a diagonal angle, grinning at the results.

Even though she was still panting, Yang looked toward the camera again with lustful eyes, this time trailing one of her hands over the cleaner areas of her body for one of the shots, whatever she could think of to make them as good for Weiss as possible. A part of her wished she had done this with Weiss, had an entire album full of sexy pictures… but the risk was too great. And she understood.

"But did I do good?" she asked. "Is my prince happy?"

"Happy you're happy," she corrected slightly as she reviewed the shots. Some were blurry and didn't come out, of course, but the others… they would provide plenty of future entertainment. Then she began to crawl up along the bed.

"However… you still have to tend your prince."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm REALLY sorry about not doing a damn thing last month. There's no excuse. I fell into a kind of unproductive hole and couldn't climb out. But for those of you who still want to see what happened to these nerds, I'm back! And I promise I'm not going to stop posting even if I go away for a while. (Of course having another member of RR who helps post would be great but we're fresh out of those right now haha. Writers, yes, but I'm the only "mod")
> 
> The next chapter will finish off this scene. It's a really long scene okay?!


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: strap on bj, dirty pictures, roleplay, jerking off, analingus, strap on sex/pegging, doggy style

**=Chapter 20**

All Yang Xiao Long could do was smirk now that she'd gotten her breath back. Weiss wanted more; she was clearly moving to straddle her face. It was amazing to her how insatiable this prissy pop star turned out to be! But how she had missed the flavours of her lover's sex, missed hearing her moans, treating her like the princess. So holding a hand out and making a grabby gesture, she purred.

"Come to princess…"

As she moved, Weiss gripped the blue strap-on with the hand that had been pumping Yang earlier, smearing that tiny droplet of essence onto its tip in her efforts not to accidentally smack Yang in the face. Settling herself into position, her centre was now so close to the blonde's nose that the distinct scent of arousal could be caught on the air, even through her panties.

"Your wish is my command."

And then she shifted her hips backward, took aim… and pushed the phallus up against Yang's lips again.

Which caught her by surprise! Suddenly a third of its length was pushed straight into her mouth again, causing a muffled grunt when she managed to accept it back into her throat. Once more she was reminded just how big it was. What on earth was Weiss playing at?!

"Your prince requires the attentions of your beautiful mouth," Weiss told her, holding still for the moment. She hadn't forgotten how the bodyguard struggled before; jumping straight to ramming it in over and over was too much, it seemed. An adjustment period was necessary.

One thing Yang hadn't expected she needed to get used to was the taste of her own juices over it. A salty tang, one she knew Weiss enjoyed. For her… It wasn't _unpleasant,_ but not as good as Weiss's sex when she had the chance to try it. Gently bobbing her head forward, she showed she was ready to accept more, taking extra into her mouth back and forth, right to her throat again, coating it completely.

Humming in contentment at the sight below her, she began to thrust very slightly once Yang had shown she would be alright with it. This sight was too good; she had enjoyed it before, and even more-so now that Yang was recalling how to do it a little more easily.

"That's right. My princess knows exactly how to make me happy. I'm so glad she does."

Against the fake length, she attempted to hum again, which would of course vibrate against her as she did. After a short while, she let it rest at the back of her throat a moment, seeing how long she could keep it there without having to move. All she did in that time was lick the base. If it were real, that would mean prodding at a tender ballsack. But here, it was just for show.

While at first, the display had merely been vaguely arousing and satisfying to Weiss because she got to fulfil a role for Yang that she hadn't been able to before, eventually she began to flush at the sight. God, but she really looked good doing that; she was beginning to understand why Yang had been so resistant to deleting the pictures of her now, and glad they could compromise instead. It was… highly erotic.

After a few more seconds, Yang could take no more and drew herself back off her prince, allowing it to leave her mouth with a slight _pop!_ Looking down at the sodden member, she couldn't help but smile to herself. She still had the skills after all.

"Is that what my prince wanted?" she asked.

"It is," she panted weakly, weaving to and fro as she gazed down at it next to Yang's face. Why was that so fun to watch happen? Then she shook herself from her arousal-clouded daze and went on, "And… that should help me immensely. Help us."

Then she rolled to the side and crawled down past Yang's body until she was nearly off the bed, turning so that her head hovered over Yang's spent cock. Still slightly larger than when totally unaroused, and definitely redder, it was about the most appetising thing Weiss had seen all week. Therefore, she wasted no time on rational thought and leaned down to take the entirety of it into her mouth, letting out a wanton groan as the salty bead at the head flowed into her throat.

"H-Help us do wh- AH!" Even after she was spent her girlfriend really couldn't resist. How on earth did she enjoy having that part of someone in her mouth so much?! Or even enjoy tasting her semen like that? Weiss was something special, though she knew that already. But in this state, there was a tiny amount of pain mingled in with the pleasure, caused by too much stimulation. It didn't cause much of a problem, but she did call up, "B-Be careful! I'm still… y-yeah!"

However, the body betrayed the mind in this case. Yang had often told her that she got overly sensitive right after climax, and couldn’t go again very soon. She had no reason to believe that wasn't true… but Weiss could also feel the length stirring very slightly from the efforts of her tongue. For now, she would retreat, but that was something to keep in mind.

"Sorry," Weiss said, not grasping it as she normally would once it left her mouth. Instead, she leaned further down and placed a gentle kiss on the soft sack below it. "Just… you're so delicious, Princess. Do you know that? I can't get enough of your body."

Shakily panting, she gazed downward toward her. Hearing such things brought a joy to her like nothing else, especially since no one had said it about her body after transition before. Keeping her legs parted, she bent one of them so she could at least get a better look at Weiss, growling in delight. But this had a side effect. It revealed the still unused entrance to Yang's body. An unintentional reminder…

Such a soft little opening. Weiss was tempted to poke her finger into it again, but she knew that finger would have to be quarantined once used for that purpose; besides, she hadn't brought a glove and was worried about her nails.

Slick and red… her head travelled closer. Maybe it was because Yang was still fresh from her post-workout shower, or maybe it was the arousal still thick on the air, but she detected no offensive smell. Just soft, puckered, clean skin.

Her mouth was already so close…

A corner of her mind began screaming when her lips pressed against it. Telling her that she was crossing a very bad line, that this was much worse than all the things they had tried together so far. But the deed was already done. Too late to turn back.

"W-wah?!" Eyes snapping wide open again, Yang looked down to where Weiss was. She was kissing her… _there?!_ Surely that couldn't have been pleasurable for her, not when she had to use gloves before the first time they experimented with that area. But for Yang, it was nice. It made the muscles tense there slightly in surprise, made her moan again with glee. In truth, she was still thinking about what it would be like to have the huge dildo in there, but this definitely wasn’t half bad.

"Hmmhh…" That sound hadn't come from Yang. Completely beside herself, Weiss finally did realise that it was coming from her own lungs. Maybe it wasn't something she would want to do all the time, but she hadn't minded it nearly as much as she expected - and Yang's reaction was well worth stepping outside her comfort zone.

Then, she realised something else. Remembered something. It had seemed like a silly, unimportant detail at the time, but now she fumbled amongst the sheets for that tiny bottle of lubricant. Sure enough…

"Piña colada," she breathed very quietly. Eyes glazed over, they moved between the bottle and the tensing little pinhole that she had so recently kissed. Should she?

Still panting, Yang could hardly believe what was happening anymore. With all of what Weiss was doing, fetching the lube, kissing her backside; it seemed as though she wanted to keep going. The lube was the key sign, of course.

"Weiss are you…?" she attempted to ask, tensing her rear end muscles in pure surprise of the moment. She never expected this, especially not given how often her past partners had proven to be so ‘one-and-done’.

"I don't know," was all Weiss's numb voice could manage to say. It didn't fit very well with her "prince" persona, but it was honest; what on earth _was_ she doing?! So far, drizzling the lube onto her finger and pressing the tip up against Yang. That was good for a start.

It was enough to give Yang a good solid answer. Yes, she did want to keep going. And the lubed up finger pressing up against her tiny puckered hole again had began to make her shudder, the muscles were both flexed and relaxed. But on that moment they relaxed, it allowed the lubed up finger to easily slip inside. "Oh!"

"You like that, princess?" Weiss finally managed to force herself to say as she watched in numb fascination. This was the second time, of course, but now she could see everything so much clearer… and it was as arousing to her as touching her cock.

As more of it slipped inside, Yang began to tensely hold the bedsheets again, tugging and pulling to try and regain some form of hold on reality. But it was useless, everything was just too numbing right now. After all, she had just come down from an intense orgasm and now she was being poked up her ass, having someone open it up with her finger. What was it going to be like when things got further, she wondered.

But yet more surprises were in store for Yang. Weiss had only continued to drill in and out of that tightly-closed area as she steeled her mind, found her courage somewhere. With that done, and a fluttering in her stomach she was doing her best to ignore, she drew the finger out and wasted no time in pushing her tongue into the hole her finger had patiently opened.

And the needy moans were back. Some that mirrored Weiss's when she first used her tongue on her sex backstage at New York. Needy, high pitched and desperate. She wasn't worried about things becoming too much anymore, only thinking about the pleasure that was to come, how good that little tongue was feeling. She loved every moment.

"Ohhhhh…" she moaned again, shuddering with joy. "P-prince… This is amazing!"

On the other hand… the "prince" was completely beside herself. This was worse than sleeping with someone before marriage, worse even than how much she guiltily enjoyed having essence all over her face. This was putting her mouth somewhere it simply did _not_ need to go. But since the flavour was an artificial one - and one she didn't mind in the slightest, though she wasn't that big of a coconut fan - there was no excuse not to enjoy thrusting her tongue in there over and over, waggling it back and forth. Testing. Exploring.

Sighing, Weiss scooted in closer and pushed her lips right up against the outer rim, to see how deep her tongue could go. How much she could make Yang moan and wail with this one simple action.

And she did. Over and over again. Giving in and resting her legs over Weiss's shoulders, she continued to ride the extra waves of pleasure going over her continually, biting her lip as some way to try and stay sane. But it was useless, useless when her small prince was tonguing such a private area. More or less getting it ready with that alone.

The hunger was too real. All she wanted was to keep devouring that taut ring of muscle, or to move upward again - but Yang didn't want her doing that at present. This, however, seemed to be fair game. She kept going even when the flavouring seemed to fade, when all she could taste was warm, slick skin beneath her lips. And she didn't mind at all.

But Yang was growing desperate again. Desperate and needy. She needed things to go further, wanted more after so long of being teased. And to express such a need, she patted the top of her head to get her attention.

"M-my prince…" She begged. "Please…"

Almost as if startled from her dazed state, Weiss glanced upward. Of course, all she could see from that vantage point was a soft round sack and a hand hovering overhead. Pulling backward, she had to force herself not to look at the dampened opening as she pushed up to her elbows.

"Wh… what is it, Princess? What do you need? Should I stop?"

To express such a need, her hand left the top of her head, and instead headed down on herself, beginning to touch around the area where Weiss had been licking and taunting. Tugging her balls up and out of its way. "Y-you know what I need…"

Watching Yang's fingers getting closer to that made her heart race, but tonight wasn't an occasion to watch Yang tease herself - maybe that could come another time. She did indeed know what she needed.

"That's right," Weiss purred, rising upward until she could crawl forward enough so her hips were closer to Yang's again. "You need me to… fill you completely. You sure you're ready?"

The nodding only got even more intense. Sure she was ready? That was an understatement. She was begging for it, her body ached for it. This was what she needed. "Take me."

"Definitely," Weiss said with a slight smile as she began to pet Yang's stomach, hoping to rile her up that much more. Of course, instead she felt herself swipe through the essence Yang had deposited upon herself a few minutes before. "Oh, oops! Damn…"

However, as she looked at it on her fingers with the blue length hanging below… she wondered. Maintaining eye contact with Yang, she reached down toward her temporary cock.

It took a few moments for Yang to realise what was happening, but then it became clear; and made her heart rate soar. Weiss was using her own climax from earlier to lube the cock up even more. This was truly crazy! It was a mixture of her own saliva, the small amount of lubricant supplied, and now her cum that would prepare her for entering. And somehow that just aroused her even more.

However, it wasn't enough - even after Weiss noticed Yang breathing faster as she watched the oddly erotic display, after she went back to collect more essence to slather all over the plastic surface. After she noticed Yang growing very slightly harder from the sight. That probably wasn't enough to go for a second climax just yet, but Weiss was very surprised; she didn't remember Yang ever wanting to go again after she finished. Could all this teasing of her behind be the culprit?

But she couldn't worry about that when she had business to tend. Snatching up the tiny bottle, she poured a little more lube along it, stroking herself as if she were a man trying to bring herself off. And it was working; as she stroked, she felt her hand gliding more and more smoothly.

"I'm ready, I think," Weiss told her as she angled it downward. "Whenever you are."

Yet again, Yang nodded. But this time, she rested her legs on Weiss's shoulders, using them to keep her in position against her, and to make her entrance much easier for Weiss to get to. Satisfied, she tried to shuffle herself close to her again. "Ready."

Of course, now that the moment had come, even though they had done so many things with that area up until this point… Weiss still felt her cheeks burning at the idea of what she was about to do. Take Yang. Bury her cock deep in the tall, strong bodyguard and ride her relentlessly. The imaginary images in her mind of men doing that to her before resurfaced, and just as before, she felt her own sex burning at the very idea. She felt a compulsion to run away, too shy to actually go through with it…

But Yang wanted it so badly. In the end, of course it was what she wanted to do. Therefore, she only nodded, took a deep breath, and pressed the dampened tip up against its dampened goal.

This was it. Weiss was starting. She continued to gaze down at the sight below; being her body still dotted with her previous semen, her half limp cock laying flat against her body, spent from the actions earlier, and her girlfriend, her girlfriend who was slowly pushing a girthy length of plastic into her most intimate area, just as men had before. It felt different to the gloved fingers already. Much much bigger for a start, and even wetter. And when the head of it slipped inside, she let out a moan of satisfaction.

Weiss knew she was red as a beetroot when she asked, "You like that? Is this good for my princess?"

_"Yeeaahhh…"_

It sounded so needy! Finding more of it being pushed inside of her was bringing out this side of her, this completely submissive state of the usually dominant Yang Xiao Long. A woman whose job it was to defend and look intimidating was here, getting her tightest entrance penetrated. But she loved it, she enjoyed every second that Weiss was pushing her hips forward, forcing her to open up more and more to let it inside. Gods it was huge, every nerve ending was on fire.

Watching Yang take it was making Weiss light-headed with desire. So much so that she had to pause, hanging onto Yang's knees for support until the dizzy spell passed. Why was this so unbelievably erotic to her - not just to the normal degree, but far, far past it? The half of her mind that wanted to keep going, to fuck Yang senseless and watch her squirm and flail beneath her, was at war with the half that wanted to flee, to abandon this because it wasn't her right to do this, to turn her powerful, protective bodyguard into a mewling submissive kitten.

Said kitten was reduced to pawing at the bedsheets again, grasping whatever she could and pulling it back and forth as she tried to get used to the sensations. But then she noticed Weiss had stopped. Inwardly she was disappointed that there would be more teasing it seemed, but at the same time, it gave her a chance to try and calm down again.

"Still doing okay down there?" Weiss was panting, caressing one of the shins by her face. She was finally coming back to herself, but now felt a bit nervous about forcing herself any deeper into the hole below her.

Again nodding, she tried to reach out for her hand, letting out another content hum when it meant her position was slightly adjusted. Tensing her muscles around the object to feel it even more made her let out another moan as well.

"D-deeper…" she begged. "I told you, I like 'em big…"

"You did," Weiss said with a weak little chuckle as she adjusted her position, kneeling closer. "Well… get ready for your prince." Then she thrust forward, feeling another inch slide into Yang. It amazed her how she could actually feel it moving, despite the fact that it was not truly her own appendage!

Of course, that was what Weiss was feeling. For Yang, it was even more intense. That extra inch made her moan yet again, another high pitched mewl that was so unlike her. But who could blame her? Her prince's length was big in both length and girth, bigger than she had handled before.

At long last, the hilt of the harness bumped up against Yang's hindquarters. Weiss was all the way in.

"Ooh… Yang, h-how does that feel? I mean, describe it to me…" She honestly wanted to know. She always wanted to know how doing these things affected her girlfriend, since her anatomy was different. That topic was endlessly fascinating. Besides, she wanted to make sure they were _both_ enjoying themselves.

Yang had to think for a moment. How _could_ she describe such a thing? It was a difficult task, considering there was so much going on in her head. She felt _filled,_ first of all. That was probably the most important detail. In fact, she swore if it was much longer it would have been going toward her stomach, it certainly felt that way at least. But then she considered how such a girth felt against her inner walls. Snug, _huge_ , setting the nerve endings alight. But she couldn't leave Weiss unanswered.

"Big…" she started, voice to a quiet and needy whisper. "So very big… Like you’re filling me up completely."

Nodding to acknowledge she heard her, even if she could only partially understand due to remembering what Yang felt like inside a very different area, she began to draw back outward. "And… this?"

There was a gasp that served as some immediate way to describe how it felt. It was something incredible as she felt the inner walls close up straight after she pulled away, knowing they'd be forced open once more when she pushed forward.

"F-Feels good…" She half closed her eyes. "I c-can feel it moving…"

"God, I would hope so!" Weiss couldn't help but burst out, still watching the blue length emerge in complete amazement. This was really happening. She was really doing this to Yang, and it was actually working. Once all the way back out, she tried to shift forward again - and this time, doubling the slow speed from before. Hoping to find out if her lover’s body was ready for her to begin in earnest.

 _"Haaah!"_ A much louder, more feminine moan this time. Just as expected, her inner walls were forced open again, accepting Weiss back into her warm body with ease. Yet more surges of pleasure passed into her extremities, her heart racing - and this was without even hitting her spot yet!

Panting from the effort of maintaining such a slow, gentle pace without any sudden moves, Weiss licked her lips as she persisted in her efforts. All of this was made so much more difficult by how turned on she was! Watching Yang taken like this, knowing it was by her own hand… never had anything been so exciting for her eyes. And all the while, Yang continued to moan delicately and softly. In their slow pace, there was no reason to be screaming just yet, even if at times she felt like she needed to. It was just so incredibly good!

Able to sense Weiss was trying even harder to look, she attempted to give her a show as best she could, letting one of her legs leave her shoulder so she could spread them apart further, allowing her diva to monitor her work. And a quiet "ooohh" fell from Weiss's mouth at the sight of Yang opening up even more for her. Her hand reached down and brushed over her sack, over the member that was now almost completely soft. Again, she came away with a tiny bead of dew, so she brought it up to her lips and took it inward.

"Mmmhhh," she groaned softly. "My princess is so delicious."

Now that there was a rhythm going, Yang could lay her head to one side, panting eagerly and in unison with each thrust inside. Even if she probably wasn't going to get hard a second time, it still felt equally pleasing in a different way. There was also a sick pleasure she took in knowing she was being taken while the remnants of getting off the first time were still across her stomach - and even more when she remembered a tiny bit was inside her, coating Weiss’s new cock.

"Wow, it's like… the best thing I've ever watched in my life," Weiss was sighing as her eyes dropped to how she was thrusting in and out of Yang in earnest now - not terribly fast, but there was a definite increase in speed. Now, each thud into her cavity caused her length to shift back and forth, her breasts to bob up and down. What she wouldn't give to be able to watch that forever…

 _'And I could,'_ she realized. The phone was still nearby. If Yang didn't protest… Swallowing down her nervousness, she paused in her thrusts just long enough to lean over and pick it up.

In the small moment they'd stopped, Yang quivered. Mainly since the simple action of leaning over had angled the phallus differently, it was now applying different amounts of pressure to different angles. Another part to the experience she was feeling. But more importantly, there was no protest. Yang continued to stare out blankly at the ceiling, and quiveringly moan.

“You are… a grade A _perv,”_ she accused again weakly, even if she was grinning when she said it. “And you’re… supposed to be such a good girl!”

Straightening back up with a gleeful grin of her own, the pop star aimed the phone down at her girlfriend. "Ready to make some movie magic, my princess?" she asked in a hushed voice, biting her lip afterward. Bracing to be told that this was too far, to accept it without feeling too disappointed.

But there was nothing of the sort. Half of the blonde’s mind was screaming internally, wanting to quickly bat the phone out her hand and refuse. But rational thought was kicking in more. Weiss already had a few photos, even a short video clip of her in her phone. What was this going to change? The only thing it would do is give Weiss more things to turn her on… which in her book, wasn’t a bad thing in the slightest.

Nodding her consent, she laid her hands down beside her head again, trying to resist the temptation to grasp at the sheets. That wouldn't make a good video.

The instant she nodded, Weiss began recording. She wanted as much as she could get. For a minute or so, she simply kept thrusting into Yang, watching her writhe and groan. It was so good! And Yang couldn't seem to get enough; the last time she had prodded her there, it hadn't taken long before she finished. But then again, it was easier to prod that very particular area with her fingers than with the dildo.

Speaking of which… clearing her throat, she asked, "So, princess… tell me how you feel with your prince inside you."

This was all for the recording now. She wanted to remember how Yang felt rather than just hear it. And what footage she would have of that! Maybe she would ask Weiss to send this one to her phone, as well. Already with the increased speed she was completely covered in sweat, barely able to think rationally at all. Finally turning to look at the camera, she licked her lips, saying between her moans.

"Y-You're so big… I-I feel… a-amazing."

"I wish I could feel you," she sighed in response - then ducked her head in embarrassment. That wasn't something she intended to say while the video was going, but it was honest, for sure. "You're such a tight princess! Who wouldn't want to feel you?"

"Hah!" There was a sudden gasp from her. Weiss had hit that spot, the spot she assaulted with her fingers back on the bus. It was a lucky shot, yes; but she made sure to tell Weiss as she had to grasp the sheet instead. Caught on camera. "T-There! G-Go harder!"

That was the signal; Yang had felt it hitting her just right inside. The angle was a little harder to maintain, but she did her best, thrusting up and in instead of just straight forward. She also lowered the phone to just above the area in question, slowing right down to give a clearer picture of what was going on for the camera. The sight of the thick blue length sliding in and out of a perfectly-tightened hole was as erotic on the screen as in real life.

And alongside it were Yang's needy and higher-pitched moans accompanying them. Additional tingles were sent through her body, all caused by that small gland inside her, getting attacked over and over by the thick blue intruder. This time it wasn't as intense, given that the stimulation wasn't direct. But with everything else, it was just as pleasurable.

And feeling her legs starting to quiver again, she could feel what was coming. Already she was getting close! All right there on camera.

While Weiss was panning up to show the jiggling package above her penetration, and then the glistening smears of leftover essence on her stomach, she noticed the higher pitch and glanced up to see Yang's face had become a mask of near-ecstasy. Pulling back her arm, she framed as much of her as she could in the shot, then ramped up her speed as much as she felt comfortable doing. After all, she still didn't know how hard was "too hard".

"Yeah, that's it, my adorable little princess - come for me!" she urged, reaching over to grasp one of her feet and bend her leg further backward. Open her up more. She wanted to do the same with both legs, but it wasn't possible with one hand busy.

It was more than enough to finish the job. Live on camera, her legs were quivering uncontrollably, hands grasping at the sheets again as the intense orgasm took over her. Another loud and shaky moan was the main signal, along with the muscles of her rear end clamping and relaxing onto the phallus over and over again, squeezing whatever they could out of it.

And eventually, she went slack, resting against the bed and panting heavily. There was little more she could do, not when she was only seeing stars.

"So good…" That was all Weiss could say as she watched Yang try to recover. Her body had been through a lot ever since they took off the beautiful hanfu. One final time, she pushed all the way into Yang and leaned down to kiss her cheek tenderly - still recording the kiss and the spent look on Yang's face all the while. If she was a little out of focus or framed poorly, who cared? It was only for the two of them to look back on fondly.

"Princess Yang did beautifully," she cooed. "She was a good girl, and her prince loves her, and is proud of her."

"Oh… Hoooh…" Closing her eyes, she barely had enough energy to wrap her arm around Weiss, just to show she was there. She didn't even realise that things were still recording, that the phone was right near her dazed expression. All she did was start to smile. "That's… that'll do it… holy _shit_."

"That'll do, _what?"_ Weiss goaded gleefully, humming at the feeling of Yang's arms around her.

Taking a moment to calm her breathing down, she whispered with a dazed smile, "That'll do, my prince. I'm more than satisfied."

And so was Weiss. Kissing Yang on the lips one time, she then looked over at the phone and smirked as she thumbed the screen to stop the recording.

Her princess was blissfully unaware, only kissing back very slowly and softly. It was fairly obvious she was exhausted. But there was one thing she needed to do while it was still comfortable, which became obvious when she tried to bring her legs close to Weiss again, and push her down. She needed the phallus out.

And Weiss was inclined to oblige… but something stuck with her. The sight of Yang getting hard again earlier; even if she didn't get back to full strength as she was before she finished, she also didn't remain completely flaccid. In fact, she could feel the tiniest bit of firmness between their abdomens; one she had remembered from brushing up against Yang once or twice and finding that she was just barely beginning to stir. If she worked on it enough, she could probably get Yang going for a second round. The only question was, would it be in _both_ of their best interests?

"You doing okay, baby?" she asked as she laid the phone aside, kissing her lips again.

"K-Kinda…" She said between kisses, still attempting to push Weiss back out of her again. But it was no use just hinting, she sensed that Weiss didn't understand at all. Parting their lips, she laughed nervously. "C-Could do with you out of my butt, though… Unless you _don't_ want me to get you?"

"Not yet." That was a very slight bending of the truth; tonight, she didn't want Yang to get her at all. "Actually… I wanted to try something else." As she leaned back, still deep within Yang, she began raising one of her legs upward.

"W-Weiss?" she began to ask, feeling her lover continuing to manipulate her however she chose to. "W-What are you doing?"

Scooting to one side so she was straddling Yang's other leg, she continued to spin her on the blue implement, eyes wide with fascination at how easily it turned inside of her. "Just… trying something for a second."

Feeling things slide around inside her made her shiver yet again. Different areas of her were being touched again, different amounts of pressure on her inner walls. Shuddering one more time when she was moved to lie on her front, she looked back around. "T-Trying what?"

"Hmm…" Weiss's hands clamped down on her hips and yanked her upward roughly until she was on her knees. "There. I should be able to get some good leverage this way."

Then, without waiting for Yang to respond, she drew back and pushed back inward once more. Testing this position. In surprise, she yelled out loudly. She was still going?! Beyond anything she expected when she first stepped into the bedroom, she was going to be taken a second time? Could she even handle that?!

"Ohhh, yeah," Weiss sighed as she got into a rhythm again. "This will do nicely." But she knew Yang had been used in this way a lot before; put on her knees and taken from the back, ridden relentlessly without engaging with her face-to-face. She knew that the blonde liked it, but it also made her feel somewhat secondary. And she knew how she wanted to make up for that.

Leaning down, she kept thrusting as she pasted her own warm stomach against Yang's back, her nipples against her shoulder blades. One hand was needed to hold part of her weight up off of Yang, but the other began teasing Yang's large, soft chest with nimble fingers.

"Weiss! W-W-WhaaaaAAAH!" Yet again, she was to be fucked relentlessly. That's what this was, it was fucking. Much like Yang had done to her mouth on previous occasions, what they'd done with each other on that day Penny's parents were out. But this time it was her that was receiving everything. The pleasure coming from feeling her chest being played with was yet again putting her into another pleasure filled daze, and she could only enjoy it.

And now that they had established what was going on, Weiss did not stop, did not let up; her thighs were going to be quite sore in the morning, but she wanted this to be the best night of Yang's life - much like the time she had taken Weiss's virginity was the best of her own. Therefore, she finally used her other hand to reach up and grasp a fistful of Yang's blonde hair and jerk her head back roughly so she could whisper in her ear.

"I want to… f-fuck you hard." She sounded nearly as needy as Yang did, given that she was uncomfortable saying things like that. "But… I want you to want it, too. Do you? Do you want this?"

All Yang was able to do was pant and groan. Being pulled and messed with was what she was used to previously, and yes, she did enjoy it. But the fact it was Weiss doing it was making it even more pleasing tonight. Since usually Weiss was the bottom, the smaller person who would _try_ to be in charge, but rarely was. But now that she had actually taken control, she wanted it more than anything.

"Yes," she whispered. "D-Do it… F-Fuck me as hard as you can!"

That was all she needed to hear. The diva's hips began to move as fast as they were capable, faster than she thought she would dare move something in and out of such a sensitive little hole. Releasing Yang's hair, she leaned back to watch the process with eager eyes, finding a fresh wave of arousal pulsing between her own legs at the vision laid out below her. Maybe she did love having Yang inside of her, or riding her as they had done a moment ago… but she could definitely see the appeal of bending her over this way. Why so many of her previous partners had wanted to gaze down upon her silky back, the fleshy moons of her backside as they rippled from every thrust between them.

Simply beside herself, Yang had to hold on for dear life. She really was being pushed to the limit, feeling such a thick and long girth widening her over and over, like it was splitting her open! But she couldn't just have that alone, not this time. She needed more.

Managing to support herself with one arm, she very shakily raised her hand, heading downward to between her own legs. Even if she could barely keep herself still enough to focus, she managed to grasp her soft length, starting to try and pump it to get it hard again. Still sore from earlier, these efforts were almost painful, but she persevered. The pleasure was enough to numb it down.

"Y-you don't have to do that, princess," Weiss panted once she noticed Yang was manipulating her own cock. Of course, it was also quite enticing to feel her go to town on herself while being ridden… so for the moment, she simply caressed Yang's soft cheeks with both hands, gripping them occasionally.

"I-I… H-have to!" she mewled, feeling the length take little to no time to harden again. Then she really could begin to pump hard. The dull ache mingling with all the pleasure she was getting added to it, made everything even more intense. Everything was intense about this.

She couldn’t take listening to that anymore. It was too difficult, too… what was the word she was searching for? Sad. Somehow, Yang having to get herself off was really hot, but there was also an injustice in that. So she reached down to Yang's hand, which was already moving at blazing speed.

"No, I m-meant… _you_ don't have to," she clarified.

Even more shocks for this evening. Not only had Weiss continued things even after she had came, and made her internally orgasm a second time from stimulating her butt alone, but she was also going to make her come one more time. And completely by her hand. This was entirely new. No one ever offered her this service while doing such things to her rear end, and were usually annoyed or disgusted that she'd asked. But the knowledge that now she could ask it of her girlfriend was moving. It brought tears of joy to her eyes.

And eventually, she agreed to Weiss's offer, releasing her hand. "T-thank you! Fuck… thank you, Weiss! Nnnhhh!"

At that moment, Weiss realized that she may perhaps had bitten off more than she could chew. This angle was not the easiest with which to jerk Yang off - and she was having some difficulty maintaining her thrusting speed with an arm wrapped around that way. It was possible, but not easy, and she knew she wasn't pulling out quite as far before thrusting back inside anymore. But that was no longer the focus. Now…

It was the white-hot cock in her hand. Yang was so much spongier than usual, and she could feel it throbbing, feel the skin burning! Maybe it was because they had kept things going after finishing, or just doing this twice so close together. She had no way of knowing, but she didn't need to. She just wanted to keep going.

As it all continued, Yang could feel her heart rate intensifying. Much like the thrusts Weiss was delivering to her poor, tortured ass, her heart was beating hard and fast. She could practically feel it thumping out her chest. That along with the length pummelling her insides over and over was putting her poor body through its paces tonight.

It didn't take long for her to start quivering yet again. She was close already, shaking over and over in Weiss's grip as her breath picked up it's pace. "P-prince! It's… It's coming! F-fuck, Weiss, I'm gonna mess up your sheets real bad!"

"Oh sh-shit!" the pop star yelped when she heard that. Washing the sheets would draw attention; she'd have to do it herself, sending them out to the laundry would run the risk that someone would notice the stains! However, the knowledge that Yang was so overjoyed was making it hard for her to care; the throbbing cock in her hand was almost ready to spill its seed.

Therefore, she simply tried to wrap her other hand around the front of Yang's cock, hoping she could possibly catch the load. It might be too much to ask, what with how wildly both her hips and her other hand were moving by now, but it wasn't _completely_ impossible.

And for the final time this evening - at least she hoped so for her mind's sake - Yang shuddered violently again with the force of her climax. She assumed she was going to tear holes in the bedsheets by how tightly she was hanging on to them, pulling at them to try and hold herself together. Not that it was possible, anyway.

"F-FUCK!" It was a fairly loud yell; not enough to alert people beyond those four walls, luckily, but enough to tell Weiss she was done. That was if the throbbing length in Weiss's hand didn’t do that job for her, or the fact her member was shooting its seed straight into her other hand. Usually going twice in one go would mean barely anything was produced, but being stimulated this way made this shot nearly as copious.

But after three orgasms already, including the ass-only one, it was taking its toll on Yang, whose arms were weakly shaking with the effort of holding her up once the waves of pleasure had finished.

"O-ohhhh," Weiss managed to gasp as she felt her hand being filled. The feeling was a little unsettling, somewhat like pumping softsoap into it, but it was so warm… once Yang was finished, she pulled said hand back up to stare.

Her stomach churned when she saw. What was she supposed to do with this now? For some reason, even though normally she would be thrilled to have it splashed across herself, even her face, with it being already "spent" it wasn't the same. Therefore she simply cupped it into a careful fist, one that remained upright and not tightly clenched so it wouldn’t ooze out the sides.

"Alright, Princess," she began shakily. "Are you, um, ready? I'll pull this out if you are."

Managing to nod slowly, Yang found herself falling forward anyway. She couldn't help it, not when she could feel her arms giving way. But until Weiss pulled out herself, she resisted falling completely against the sheets. It may cause damage if they drew out too fast, after all. So Weiss slowly eased out of her lover's body, taking great care as she moved so as not to wound her fragile flesh. Once free, she rushed to the bathroom and took off the harness, dropping the entire thing into the tub and ran it under the faucet as she washed her own hands. Washing the strap-on would seem less daunting later if it was already partly clean.

When she returned, When she returned, Yang was lying on her back, still heard loudly panting for breath. Thankfully she'd managed not to stain the sheets with the remnants that were on her stomach, but was still far too weak to clean them off herself.

"Well, that is definitely an activity I never anticipated doing in my lifetime. Are you alright?"

“Hah,” was all Yang said. In fact, she was even too weak to give a proper answer, and just ended up nodding instead of trying again.

"Awww," Weiss cooed when she saw just how exhausted the bodyguard seemed. Then she tiptoed a little closer, snatched up a tissue from a box on her bedside table and began dabbing at her stomach. "My poor little princess is all tuckered out."

Not even able to nod anymore, the dazed eyes of her lover were finally beginning to close. Three orgasms in one night had certainly taken its toll on the poor girl, especially when she didn't expect any at all. Once her eyes were closed and Weiss had finished dabbing the last of her semen, there was a small, groggy sentence.

"Sorry I can't get you back…"

"Get me b- oh! Yang, you don't have to worry about that tonight!" Laughing very slightly, she disposed of the evidence and crawled onto the bed next to her, curling an arm around the mostly-clean stomach. "Tonight was… about you. To tell you the truth, I was thinking about asking to use that on you ever since I ordered it, but wasn't sure when I would get up the courage to try, o-or if you were interested. Then I saw you in that dress, and you looked so… so perfect, and regal…"

"Hmm…" There was a contented hum once Weiss had cuddled up to her again. No further efforts to move, only listening…

And thinking. She thought once again about all that happened the past week; passing comments and phrasing. Yet again, about that specific word: love. Weiss had mentioned it once more in their play. Of course, in character, but it was still said. _'Prince loves his princess'._ It was pretty solid in Yang's mind now that she felt the same way. That she loved Weiss truly. 

She just needed to _tell her._ But it wouldn't be tonight. Not when all that remained from her after a few more minutes was just a quiet snoring. The last of her consciousness had drifted away for the evening, leaving her sleeping by her prince's side.

Except Weiss wasn't quite ready to sleep. Once sure Yang was out, she snatched up the phone and wormed her hand down the front of her underwear, bringing up their recordings. Though she only worked herself into a frenzy once, and it didn't take long after all that multisensory teasing, it was an explosion of joy that rivalled all the other ones Yang had brought about.

And when it came down to it, she was responsible for that one, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? Told you I'd update a lot sooner! 
> 
> NEXT CHAPTER: DRAMAAAAA


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER WARNING: Transphobia, and shit hitting the fan. Seriously this might not be the best chapter to read if you‘re already having a down day.

**=Chapter** **21**

Grim-faced and determined, Winter Schnee rode the elevator up from the ground floor to that on which her sister resided. Under one arm was a black folder with a few papers in it and her tablet. Both hands were holding one paper cup apiece: a macchiato, just the way she liked it, and a plain black coffee. There was no sense spending too much money on the second beverage when her intended target's preference was unknown.

When she arrived at Weiss's apartment, there was no answer. After a few attempts, she flagged down the floor's security guard, finding out from him that both occupants were out. Weiss was with their father, and the bodyguard had gone down two floors to the gym facilities.

As she walked, Winter bristled at part of that information. "Both occupants." Yang was simply living there now, was she? Perhaps she was too late. Then again, it was never too late when you're a Schnee - or so their father always told them. She would see this through to the end, regardless of the result.

* * *

 

Now this was a gym that Yang could get used to! The facilities were spacious and full of the latest gadgets and equipment for working out. Did she even catch sight of a swimming area before she went through here? On the upper floors of a skyscraper?! That would bear investigation once she had finished with her normal routine. Having already done kickboxing, she moved onto something more challenging: weight lifting.

But as she lay on the bench and lifted the bar up and down continuously, she never expected to be joined. And especially not by  _ her _ .

"Might have known I'd find you here," Winter grumbled as she gazed down at the blonde. She made no other announcement of her arrival; simply started with that churlish comment. And such a surprise nearly made her lose focus, which would be extremely dangerous with such a weight against her. But managing to battle it out, she lifted it back up again, putting it back on the stand above her and gasping for breath.

"And hello to you, too."

"Do you really expect anyone to believe a woman can lift that?" Seemed she wasn't going to start out with softballs, either. "Honestly."

Dabbing the nearby towel against her face, she then took a drink of water instead before she answered. Something was wrong, she was jumping straight to biting remarks already. And this time, seemingly personal ones…

"I just did," she commented, putting the bottle back down and facing her. "So yeah, they should believe."

"As if that changes anything." Then she glanced around the room; at this time of day, most of the people who worked day jobs in the building had already finished their workouts and gone about their business. What an ideal situation.

"I've been meaning to talk to you, actually. About the nature of your employment with Schnee Records. You have helped us through some rough patches during this most difficult time following the stalker incident, and with the next two incidents that could seemingly not be avoided entirely. We are…  _ grateful _ for your dedication to your work.” That last sentence had been like pulling teeth to force herself to say. “However, now that the tour has ended, your services will no longer be required."

Yang raised an eyebrow. Something about this was extremely fishy. She'd been given no warning of this by Weiss for a start, and she would have at least mentioned something about lack of employment. But it was also not what her father stated. Given that he was the one who gave her the job in the first place, she made it clear she smelt a rat, by chuckling to herself.

"Excuse me?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest. "Why ain’t I hearing this from the boss himself?"

"It falls to me to see to his interests in some areas where he cannot be troubled. You can probably understand that if he had to handle every little minor detail, he'd never get anything important done, would he?" Winter's smile was tight and forced, formal. She was trying to finish her statements without letting things devolve into petty remarks, for once – or at least, only petty remarks that pertained to the situation directly.

"Alright, just… Hang on for a second," she began, unfolding her arms so she could hold her hands together instead. She couldn't accept this without a fight, could she? No, absolutely not. "I've been working here nearly three months now, and in that time I've saved Weiss from two criminal attacks, helped her feel secure around other staff - hell, people have mentioned she's been way more relaxed down since I was hired. Everything’s going great. And now you're gonna tell me I've gotta leave? After I've done nothing but good here?"

The cold blue eyes turned yet colder as they gazed down at the brutish bodyguard. "Really? Nothing but good? That's what I saw on her neck yesterday morning, was it? A 'good' bruise, from the 'good' things you have been doing behind closed doors?!"

_ Oh no. _

This couldn't be happening. As soon as it was mentioned, she remembered the love mark on Weiss's neck, one she had so obviously left as well. There was no hiding that one, or making out it was something different entirely. Winter knew exactly what was going on, and she wasn't happy.

But Yang stood her ground, narrowing her eyes instead. "That's her business."

"Wrong, sir - that's  _ my  _ business. Whatever sick fantasy you want to play out on your own time is yours, but my baby sister? She is  _ my  _ responsibility as much as she is my father's, and sometimes he can be completely blind to what's going on in his own company. So you'd better believe if I find out that my sister has been… has been…"

There, she got so upset that she couldn't speak further, and simply stood there clenching and unclenching her fists. As if she wanted to wrap them around Yang's throat.

But the bodyguard was distracted. Did she just say 'sir'? No… it had to have been a slip of the tongue, or her mishearing. There was no way Winter literally dug through all her past info, right? Nobody would be  _ that _ paranoid . Deciding to play it safe and assume she didn't, she shook her head, beginning to laugh nervously. Anything to distract her from this situation.

"Okay, first off, I think you guys are the  _ last  _ people who should tell Weiss what to do with  _ her  _ private affairs. I've heard the shit she had to put up with growing up, and she’s gonn have issues from that for years. Secondly; she's an adult! She can make her own choices, and deserves to be respected rather than have her own  _ sister _ go behind her back and fire me! And for what? Because you think I’m letting someone sneak into her bedroom and give her too many snuggles?!"

"Not just someone!" Winter fired up at once, eyes glaring daggers at her opponent. "And I don't think you can use the phrase 'let' when you're the one committing the crime, you, you… circus freak!" 

_ "What is your problem with me?!"  _ Yang finally snapped back, standing up so she could glare straight back down at Winter. First sir, now 'circus freak'; it couldn’t be a coincidence. But for now, she held back. No point outing herself if Winter never stated it yet.

The loud, commanding tone clearly unnerved Winter - and Winter did not care to be unnerved, not by anyone. Therefore, she went straight for the throat.

"This is you, isn't it?" she asked, reaching into the folder and producing a glossy printout of one of Yang's old photos - the one of her in the dress Blake had helped her into. "Thought you were so clever, eh? Yang instead of Ying - oh how stupid we all were. Well it stops now, do you hear me? Go cross-dress on your own time, but you will  _ not  _ drag my family's name through the mud for the sake of your twisted delusions!"

The once glaring face of Yang Xiao Long was reduced to nothing. Nothing but a fearful gaze as she stared at that photo. The first official photo of Yang rather than Ying. Apparently Winter  _ was _ that paranoid; she'd been looking for more than her criminal records, and if she had this, she had far more. Winter could out her any second, easily.

But then after a moment of silence, and curling her hand into a fist, she looked down and away from the picture. And let out a harsh little laugh. "I don't care what you think of me, or what your father thinks of me. Out me if it’s how you get your kicks, I don't give a shit. Because in my time of being here, my time of being with her… I've learned something very important." Then she looked straight toward her, with the smug and confident smirk on her face. "I care way more about her than I do about my reputation. And she cares about me.  So you can smear me through the dirt all you want, it doesn't change a thing. It'll only make you look worse."

That was the wrong thing to do, as it turned out; not that there was a "right" thing to do when Winter was already doggedly determined. Unfortunately, such an almost-threat as that only made the last shred of the woman's ability to reason flee in favor of going for the throat.

"Your reputation doesn't interest me in the slightest. But what about Weiss's? She has… hooked up with a mentally ill person; she doesn't see it, you don't see it - of course." She shook the picture still in her grasp. "What happens when this comes out in the press, hmm? What happens to  _ her?! _ She'll go from Weiss, respected pop star, to 'Weiss the tranny-lover' in a heartbeat! Do you even care how disastrous that would be to her reputation?!"

Yet again she froze up. Again, the confidence disappeared, because that was the key factor she didn't consider. Weiss's reputation, Weiss's career. 

_Weiss_. She might be alright with who Yang was and have accepted every part of her life, but the world would not be so kind. The world would take the media's word for things, and those words would be to create shock and a gossipy story. They didn't care who they hurt, just about selling magazines or views on their articles online. She remembered her college course, media studies. Remembered the stories of people in the past, how careers were ruined by just a simple scandalous story; how actors, singers or anyone ended up in the gutter afterward. And some never came back into the news unless it was in memorial. Maybe the world had progressed, become a little better than it once was… but trans women were still poster children for the Trans Cause, when they weren’t death statistics. Nobody like her who ended up in the public eye just got to _be_.

"B-but… You wouldn't," she said quietly, finally backing down. One last valiant effort to stop Winter from destroying her world. Maybe it would even work. "Not to your own sister! You  _ wouldn't _ do that to her, I… I don’t believe you ."

"Oh, I would," Winter growled. "I'd leak that you're a transvestite; not that she was doing whatever it is you two are doing, that I'm trying very hard not to think about. Then you would have no choice but to leave, or else keep drawing all that negative press down on her head." Her shrug would have been casual if every fiber of her being wasn't so tense. "So, you say you really care about her, right? Then prove it. Do what's actually best for her instead of merely what you want for a change."

Yang was completely silent. She was torn. Winter didn't seem like she was joking, and from seeing how persistent she was, she clearly believed every word she was saying. But she couldn't shake something else: the viral video. Even if many people were drawing conclusions that it was to do with LGBT communities, and about the struggles of those people in general, it was receiving more praise and acceptance as time went on. Overwhelmingly positive feedback, even alongside the odd question or negative comment. The world was changing, and was a different one from what Winter seemed to understand.

"W-what if you're wrong?" she asked. Now it was so quiet and weak, nothing like the person she first came in to see. Already tears were starting to form in her eyes. "What if they accept the fact I'm a transgender woman? And accept Weiss? P-please, I can't… I  _ won’t _ leave her . She needs me – we’re not doing anything wrong, you bigot."

“ Oh, I beg to differ - you certainly can leave, and you  _ will. _ _ ” _ One of her pale hands waved in the general direction of the door.  “ My little sister might have decided to indulge you in your sick fantasies …  God, just look at you. ”  Snorting, she glanced down at Yang ’ s shorts, literally raking her inner thighs for any telltale bulge with her gaze.  “ I don ’ t even know how you hide it, but I can admit you ’ re pretty convincing. Still, I can ’ t have you hanging around and corrupting her any further than you already have. You have  _ no idea _ how angry that thought makes me, or how hard I have worked to preserve her innocence. NO.  _ IDEA _ . And you sweep right in under our noses and-!”

Winter broke off to take a few deep breaths, staring off to one side and literally trembling with rage. Yang almost felt sorry for her, except she was too busy being terrified of her. Finally, she pulled herself together and continued, “Out of consideration for her… oh, I guess we could call it a ‘misguided affection’ for you, I ’ m willing to keep your true gender to myself if-  _ if  _ you quietly resign. But do not force my hand, or I ’ ll clench it into a fist. And Weiss will be hurt temporarily to make sure you don’t ruin her  _ forever. _ ”

Staring down at the ground, Yang was completely lost. All she wanted to do was swing for Winter, but that would only play into her hands. It would only make it more likely that she would be outed to the world, and Weiss would be outed as both gay, and shamed for dating someone not cisgender. Even if they didn’t make that connection, they would paint her as the victim the way Winter wanted to, and she would have to quietly suffer while knowing the truth in her heart. She could stand there and correct Winter all day about who she was, but it would change nothing. No matter how this all played out, in any of the many scenarios, Winter had the upper hand.

A few more tears fell as she realized her defeat, and she tried to shake her head to keep the tears away. "Fine… I'll tell her when she gets out of the meet-"

"No, you'll pack your things and go quietly. Right now." When Yang didn't acknowledge her words, she sighed. All of her steel seemed to leave once Yang had agreed that they were going ahead with her plan. "This will be easier. If you have the chance to hang around and tell her why you're leaving, you will both do things that will make this messier. A clean break will afford you the opportunity to not make her see you upset the way you clearly are right now. It will make it easier to get past this bizarre crush of hers and move on with her life."

"But I…"

There was nothing clean about this. Leaving with no answer, no words at all… This was a nightmare! She needed for Weiss to see she was upset about this, she needed to show Weiss she cared. She wanted to tell Weiss the long overdue phrase… And Winter was going to deprive her of that too? Surely she couldn't be that cruel?

"Not even a goodbye? I-I know we'll be upset, but if you jus-"

"Stop!" Winter half-shouted. "Stop prolonging this, this abomination of a relationship! Why would you do that to her? Just… let her be sad for a while, I and Father will be around to reassure her, and then you-"

_ "But I love her!"  _

The words fell out. It took a moment for Yang herself to realize what was just said, but she never corrected it. Because it was true. She did. She well and truly loved Weiss Schnee, and everything about her. Her body, her voice, her soul. There wasn't a part of it she disliked, and she wanted to spend every last moment with her. And as the tears fell even more, she repeated that phrase again. "I love her… With all my heart."

The other woman's lip curled in disgust as she gazed across at her, at the tears pouring down her cheeks. "You don't have any idea what love is. Not this bizarre, perverse thing that you want to engage in with a girl who was innocent before you got your filthy hands on her. You need counseling for your sickness so you can move forward, not to… to wallow in the sickness." Then she sighed, already regretting that she had poured too much of her personal feelings into what she was saying. "If you care about her as much as you claim to, you'll save her from that instead of making it worse and worse - and sacrificing her career along the way."

And that was that. There was nothing else she could say or do, not without hurting the one she felt so much about. Her brain was filled with bees, buzzing all over and keeping her from using logic. Instead, dark thoughts were racing through Yang's mind again, the very same ones that were rushing through when she first suspected her feelings for the diva.  _ Who are you kidding? Why would she ever want  _ you? _ Do you really think it could work? _

No. It couldn't. Not while people had this information to use, not while they lived in an age where people thrived off the so-called 'scandalous' stories of the rich and famous. And certainly not with someone as good as Weiss. She was too good for Yang, and she knew it all along. She deserved better.

And in the end, she glumly nodded, finally pacing toward the door…

"I'll keep watch for Weiss," the elder sister told her in much calmer tones as she followed. "You pack whatever things you may have here and leave quickly and quietly. And…"

“And?” The tiniest hope flickered in the pit of her stomach, even though it was mostly already dead.

There was hesitation in Winter’s voice. Yang's display of distress had apparently touched her to some degree, even if she still believed her course of action to be the right one. "If… you get settled in and wish to mail me a goodbye letter, and it’s not some last-ditch attempt to get her back but  _ truly _ a goodbye letter, I'll give it to her for you so she won't see your return address and go chasing after you like some fool in a movie. But there isn't time to sit down and write it now."

Yang said nothing. She was completely numb as she silently walked back to the room, and collected each and every item of her belongings. Everything was stuffed into her case idly without thought, from the chargers and electrical devices, to her  _ hanfu _ from their night previous. She looked over to the guitar, still packed away. She had hoped to continue their song tonight, even make a recording of it before the California Beach Fest in August. Hell, there was even a faint dream that if Weiss agreed to it, they could perform it there. All for naught.

That was when the tears fell. She only let herself have one minute: Winter had been clear that she had to make it quick. But she literally couldn’t stay standing anymore, so she decided it was smarter to sob, release the tiniest shred of her hurt and anger and sorrow, and then get moving. Get out of there. Leave everything behind.

But she couldn't leave without a single trace. That would be too hurtful for them both. There had to be something she could leave without Winter picking up on it and taking it away, something of value. 

For some reason, she instinctively reached up to her neck. It was something she never thought about, and yet something she had worn every day for two months now. The orange snood. The very same one Weiss had picked out for her on their day shopping. And then she looked back over to the guitar case: yet another item that Weiss had got for her, something she couldn't imagine life without. She couldn't leave the whole thing, but she could leave a small fraction of it. The yellow guitar pick.

After a few minutes of packing, she finally rejoined Winter back at the door. All that remained of her in the apartment was laid on the bed itself. The orange snood, folded neatly with the pick resting in the middle of it. One item from the very beginning, and another from toward the apex of their relationship.

That was her goodbye.

* * *

A sigh erupted from Weiss ’ s lips as she finally opened the door to her apartment again. That meeting had dragged on for so long! She had assumed they would simply be talking about the viral video for a bit, and that her father would tell her that she had to be more careful. Instead, that had segued smoothly into a long tirade about her next album, the direction they would be taking the music; Weiss had wanted to spread her wings a bit, try some other styles. Father, of course, wanted to double-down on her sugary pop sound and do more of the same. That had gone back and forth for enough that they finally just agreed to record a few of each and see how the singles went over.

At least he  _ did _ know the meaning of the word “compromise”, even if he was fuzzy on its definition.

“Yang?”  she called out, almost throwing her purse onto the coffee table.  “ Are you still out? ”  No answer; clearly she either was enjoying the longest workout routine of her life, or had gone out.

But when she made her way into the bedroom, something immediately began to feel off. A few scattered items, such as Yang ’ s guitar case, were missing. Maybe she had taken them back to her own apartment, even though she didn ’ t remember for certain whether or not she had kept up her rent payments. But then again, there was something on her bed, as if waiting for her. A present?

No, it was Yang ’s orange “ infinity scarf ”  thing. Laying atop it was her favorite yellow guitar pick - the one she had noticed her fingers reached for first, out of the few Weiss bought her that day in the shop. She touched them briefly, lightly, then explored the rest of the room. There was no other trace of her girlfriend.

With a pronounced frown, she stomped back into the living room. She had a  _ really _ bad feeling about this, but was trying not to let herself get worked up over nothing. Not before she knew anything for certain. Snatching her phone from inside her purse, she quickly redialed the last number called.

Yang never picked up. She tried twice before actually leaving a voicemail.  “ Yang, you dolt, will you answer me? All your things are gone, I ’m…  you might have at least told me that you were going to move back to your place. Call me back. ”

Half an hour passed. She had to stop herself from freaking out, from tearing down the road and yelling at random strangers to ask if they had seen a Yamaha pass through recently, and if so, which way it went. She was overreacting. Surely Yang had just gone home for some reason, surely she would be back. Her phone was on silent, her battery went flat. Anything. It could be anything …

_ Anything.  _ It could be the worst.

“Yang?!”  she screamed into her fourth voicemail message.  “ You had better have a darn good explanation for this! I ’m so…  why aren ’ t you picking up? Are you safe? Are you mad at me - did I do something wrong?! Please, just call me, whatever it is! Please? ”

By the end of the first hour, Weiss had become desperate enough to call Ruby. At first, she didn ’ t pick up, but the second try got her.

"Weiss?" came a concerned voice from the other line. Even if seeing her name pop up on her phone made her heart leap with joy, she suppressed it without freaking out. That was the deal of their exchange of numbers, after all; that she treat her like a normal person. "What's up?"

"Um, have you talked to Yang lately? Like, today?"

"No, why? I thought she was with you?" Ruby asked. Instinctively, she drew the phone away from her ear, hitting speakerphone so she could still listen to Weiss as she scrolled through the phone's menus. Perhaps, if Yang was to say something, it would be through a text she had somehow missed.

"Because she disappeared," Weiss sighed irritably. "She won't answer her phone, and all her things are gone from my place. Well, most of them, anyway. I don't know, I don't understand why she wouldn't at least leave a note, or text me or something."

"Hold on, got a message from her." But then there was a brief pause for a moment. Then it was longer than a moment. Finally, there came a quiet "Oh…"

"What? What does it say? Ruby, you're scaring me…"

"I… um, she told me where she is, but that it’s a secret. Then after that, it just says 'Tell Weiss I'm sorry'… I dunno, this is pretty weird. Did something happen?"

Suddenly, her head began to feel as if it had lost all mass, trying to float up off her shoulders. She had been pacing back and forth in her dining area, but now she desperately grabbed for a chair and managed to crawl into it rather than falling to the floor. "No… I mean, not that I know of…"

"That's… all it says." Ruby was equally worried it seemed, pausing for a moment as she read the message over and over again. Nothing she missed.  "Has  _ she  _ done anything? Like anything that's caused an argument?"

"No - God, no! We've been…" Her confusion only increased when she thought back to how happy they had made each other the night before. "I thought we were doing great. Better than great."

"Then I… I don't know. Should I maybe call for you? Try and get a few answers?"

"If you could. I'm sorry, this is probably going to put you in a very awkward place, but…" Her throat was closing up. Why was it doing that? "But if she won't talk to me… I d-don’t know what to do right now."

That was when she first started to suspect what had happened. Of course, she didn't believe it yet - didn't understand, and didn't think she was correct. But once it entered her mind, she couldn’t get rid of it for anything.

Did Yang leave her? Not just for the day, but…  _ leave  _ her?

"O-okay… I'll ring back in a few minutes. B-be right back!"

And Ruby left her in that awkward silence. It was certainly seeming like that was a possibility. All her items were gone apart from two small items, no messages, no calls, nothing. Left without a trace or explanation. Perhaps it never would be explained…

Or perhaps, it would be explained by just the wrong person - who knocked at the door.

"Yang?!" Weiss burst out, dropping the phone to the tabletop as she raced for the door, turning her ankle in the heels she was still wearing. "OW! Yang, oh thank God, I was getting so worried! Why wouldn't you-"

But of course, it wasn't Yang behind the door when she opened it. It was her older sister yet again. Unlike before, she wasn't wearing a face that Yang had described as a 'slapped backside', but a neutral expression. Something caring, if distant, which was very odd indeed.

"It certainly is not Yang. May I come in?"

"Oh." That was the only word Weiss had for her at the moment as she turned and stumbled back into her living room. Immediately afterward, she reached down and jerked her heels off angrily, throwing them all the way down her hallway in her extreme level of frustration. The expensive shoes were an easier target than an absent lover.

Such an act made Winter pause for a moment longer. Weiss was emotionally unstable right now, in no way was she fit to bear such news. And yet, it was also the perfect time. While she was this way, it would mean more anger, aimed toward the one responsible. It was far less likely for Weiss to forgive her, should she ever decide not to honour their agreement.

Stepping in and seating herself at the sofa once again, she held her hands on her lap, remaining the figure of beauty and grace, even with such a burden. "You might want to sit down."

"Whatever this is about, I'm really not in the mood right now," she growled, but she did sit down. That was a small mercy.

After a moment, Winter took a deep breath in, letting it out again glumly as she looked toward Weiss again. At least, she  _ pretended _ to be glum. This was a part she was somewhat looking forward to, especially if her sister's feelings turned to absolute hatred for her guard. She could only hope.

"I'm afraid, while you were in your meeting… your bodyguard resigned her position."

"My bodyg-" 

There really wasn't time to react. In a flash, Weiss was kneeling on either side of Winter's lap, hands grasping the lapel of her  ruffled white blouse and shaking her back and forth.  _ "How do YOU know more about this than ME?! What the hell happened?!" _

Quickly grasping her hands with her own, she tried to start pulling Weiss off her again. Of course she was angry, of course she wanted answers for why. It was the reaction she expected, despite her gentle and dignified delivery of the bad news.

"She said very little," she began once Weiss had calmed down, taking a moment to stroke her hands gently with her thumbs. "Only that, with the viral video being out there, and people drawing their conclusions of what it means… they think you're together. And that if people were to find out about her, and her…  _ hobby… _ " She still was offended by the very idea, but was at least trying to be as sensitive as she could to Weiss’s impending heartache. "Then there would be scandalous stories…"

"Yes, I know that," Weiss snapped impatiently, hearing so much retread and being nauseated by it. "And we discussed it, and she didn't care! She knows I care more about her than about some stupid tabloid headlines! So why in God's name would she suddenly change her mind, and… and pack up and leave without even telling me?!"

This was somewhat harder than she thought it would be. Why were she and Yang discussing things like that? Significant things to their future? It made no sense, not when she knew Yang's designs on Weiss were temporary and disgusting.

"Because she thought about you rather than herself," she began. There was no point in hiding the fact she knew about their relationship now, not when that impassioned reaction meant Weiss had more or less admitted it first. "She came to her senses and realized that it isn't worth risking your whole career just for a passing fling."

"Fling?" For all her logic, Winter had miscalculated slightly. Weiss drew back in surprise, momentarily distracted from the plight of figuring out what had happened to Yang. "Wait, wh… what do you mean? I just meant… just meant she's a really important person to me. Why did you say 'fling'? Explain yourself!"

"Oh for pity ’ s sake, Weiss! The love bites on your neck were making it so obvious it hurts!" She looked toward the door a moment. She'd sent the new bodyguards, and anyone else who may be around, home for the day. Nothing to worry about there in their ivory tower, after all; security cameras were more or less everywhere. But nobody could overhear this. Even Winter knew what would happen if her father ever found out, and she wouldn't put Weiss in that much trouble by her own hand; she had definitely been bluffing that she would EVER make it known they were doing such inadvisable things behind closed doors.

For the next few seconds, the young pop star looked completely embarrassed. No, that wasn't doing it justice; she looked  _ mortified _ that her sister had so easily figured out what was going on, and stupid that she had forgotten to hide such evidence.

"Oh. So… so that's it, huh? You know." Then her eyes came up defiantly, despite the colour in her cheeks. "I'm not going to say a lot of the things you probably want me to say. Like that it was a mistake, or that I was 'fooled' by her body, or whatever. I honestly really like being with Yang, and I want to know where she went. That’s all I care about right now."

She deeply sighed. "As much as I disagree with what you two have been doing, you're my sister, Weiss. I understand you need to make your own mistakes, and I can't stop them. So I'm not about to tell Father about what you and her have been doing." Knowing that wasn't the subject Weiss wanted to hear about, she released Weiss's hands, placing them either side her lap. "She's putting your career before herself. That's what she said. That no matter what, she couldn't put your future in danger. Especially not for her hobby."

"There it is again,” she almost mumbled, eyebrows drawn together in annoyance. “What the hell is this 'hobby' you keep talking about? Playing the guitar?! It's not like she can't do that while bodyguarding me, don't be stupid!" It wasn't clear if she was talking to Winter or to the ghost of Yang's presence at that moment, but it was definitely heartfelt.

"Her dressing habits. The fact that she is… a  _ he. _ You may not see it that way, nor her, but most people would. The  _ media _ would. And she couldn't sacrifice your future for it. It's the smarter choice, if you ask me."

"I don't care about 'smart', Winter!" The reality was finally crashing down on her. Even though she was stubbornly fighting against this happening, though she didn't want to accept it, one way or another, Yang had actually left her. Tears welled in her eyes as she pictured the face that was gone from her life, the warm presence in her bed… the lazy way she could make her feel at ease.

"I… I don't care about what's smart. Or any of that. I just want her back, I can't believe- why wouldn't she at least say goodbye?"

"Because why make it harder than it has to be?" Seeing tears forming on her sister's face was making things difficult. Very difficult. She expected more yelling, more anger, but not for Weiss to be utterly distraught. But shaking her head, she continued to power through again. "You deserve better than to lose your whole livelihood. And she knew it. She made the right choice. And one day, you'll look back and s-"

"FUCK that!" Weiss burst out, noticing when Winter flinched at the language. She pounced on it. "That's right - fuck the right choice,  _ fuck _ you,  _ and _ fuck Father,  _ fuck _ my career, and  _ FUCK _ the media! Yang is the only person who ever truly cared about  _ me  _ \- not Weiss as a  ‘brand’ , but  _ just  _ me! And now? Now…"

Stumbling back from Winter, she banged her leg into the coffee table, falling back against the chair she had been in before. It bore the brunt of her fall so she suffered no real injury, but once on the floor she stayed down there, weeping in earnest now. She didn't have any fight left. Not today.

Staring at the broken shell that was once her sister, even Winter couldn’t completely ignore the second thoughts. Weiss was genuinely hurt about this - not just angry like she thought she would be, annoyed at having her diversion taken away. Deeply, profoundly sad. How was that possible? There was no way their relationship could have become so important that soon, but the evidence was all there in black and white. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen Weiss look so pained.

That wasn’t true. She  _ could _ remember. When they lost their mother.

With a passing comment about leaving Weiss alone for a moment, she left the room continue her duties. First thing was first, report Yang's resignation to their father and begin the search for a new full-time bodyguard. All I’s dotted, all T’s crossed. Winter was a professional and she would make sure everything was done right the first time. 

But why, after being so certain for so long, did she  _ now _ feel like she might have made a huge mistake?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now the drama begins, leading into "Act 2" of this really long Freezerburn opus. Sorry, this seemed a little more feasible when we wrote it; now we‘re less certain Yang would really have reacted this way. But the threat still seems credible so we decided not to rewrite. I think it still holds up well enough.
> 
> But to everybody who is cringing and screaming at their monitors right now, I PROMISE this will get better! Seriously! It will! Just not before it gets a loooooot worse...


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Angst, Drug use. Non-Freezerburn chapter.

**=Chapter 22**

Ruby Rose was beginning to feel extremely anxious about her sister. It had been almost three full days since the last time they Skyped, and that had mostly been a lot of sobbing and Yang telling her that she couldn't talk, that she had "things to do". There was a lot of apologizing, and self-hatred, but none of it made sense; just a load of gibberish. Since then, she'd only received one text message the day before:  _ 'I'm okay. Sorry to worry everyone.' _ Short but to the point.

She had just returned from the library with an armload of books, and Penny was out getting some food from the dining hall for both of them. This seemed like as good a time as any to try calling Yang for the hundredth time.

Except this time was not like the last ninety-nine. Because Yang answered. There was a lot of background noise, people chattering and laughing, faint radio music, but it was definitely her sister's voice on the other line. "Hey, Ruby."

"SIS!" Ruby burst out, gripping the edge of her desk and leaning in - as if it would make any difference. "Where have you been - what happened to you?! Weiss has called me a bunch of times, freaking out! I mean, it's cool that's she's calling me, and I still can't get used to that - BUT WHAT'S GOING ON?!"

"Currently? I'm about half an hour from Blake's place." Surrounding Yang was the interior of a rather old diner, filled with quite a few people all being loud and mouthy. She'd been known before to go out for a drive on her bike when she was annoyed or upset, but not this distance. Still, she leant in to the phone herself. "I needed to get away."

"But… why? What's wrong? Weiss said you just picked up and left, and she was really mad one time and really sad the other time, and…" Ruby squirmed. She felt bad, like she was making her sister feel guilty, but she hated being caught between two friends like this, regardless of whether or not one was related to her.

Straight away Yang's hand went into her hair, grasping a good handful and pulling hard as she tried to get her thoughts together. She knew she'd have to hear about Weiss's reaction eventually, but it wasn't any less painful to hear. She could already feel her own tears beginning to well up.

"I know, I know… I bet she hates me, and I'll deserve it. I deserve all you guys ’  hate. But it's way more complicated than that. I had no choice."

"Come on, you know what Dad would say: 'You always have a choice.'”

“Like I could talk to Dad about this,” she sighed wearily. “He did push me to open up, but I don’t… I didn’t know what to say.”

“Sis…" She got up from the desk and carried her phone back over to her bed, laying on her back. She had to adjust her glasses when they tried to slide up onto her forehead. "Just tell me what happened."

Yang's breath had already started to get shaky. She managed to notice a few of the other people in the diner were looking around occasionally, some even pointing and questioning their friends. For someone usually so confident, all Yang wanted to do right now was turn invisible, disappear entirely.

"Winter." She got straight to the point, managing to hide herself in her coat. "Winter happened."

"But… it's still Spring. What are you talking about?"

There wasn't even a faint chuckle. That was how much this had affected her. Everything that made Yang,  _ Yang  _ had seemed to have disappeared, her sense of humor for things being the main one. Instead she just explained further, "Her sister, Winter. Not the season. She found pictures of me from my old Ying Facebook, threatened to out me to the press. I don't care if my reputation gets pulled through the dirt, but it won't be mine on the line if it gets out. It'll be hers."

To Yang's surprise, however, Ruby snorted with laughter. "Oh come on, you're gonna have to do better than that. She can't have a sister named 'Winter', that's dumb."

Sobbing quite clearly down the phone, she stared downward toward the table a moment, trying to keep the tears in. She couldn't cry here I public, not when right now she was still on the news occasionally. Weiss would see it, or worse, Winter would. "God, how I wish it was all a lie and I was making it up, but it's true. She didn't even let me say goodbye, or leave a note. She told me to just take off…"

"You're… you're serious. But Weiss wouldn't do that! She'd never put her reputation above you, not in a million years - that's not the kind of person she is! You know that, don't you?!"

"I know. But Winter _is,_ " she emphasized, now simply staring at the mug of coffee that remained on her table, nearly untouched. She hadn't been eating or drinking properly the past few days, unless forced. And this was no different. "I don't care what they think about me, they can call me the T-bomb, a cross dresser, anything under the sun, I don't care. But in the end, it's not gonna be me in the spotlight, it'll be her. The media won't leave her alone if this gets out. And I've done more than enough studying on the subject to find out what happens to celebrities her age that get a story like this all over the media. And it's not pretty."

“Yang...” 

She sniffed once more, grasping her hair tightly. "I can't let her risk her entire career for me, her future, a-and maybe even her mental health, just for me. I can't let her do that."

"And you didn't… you don't think Weiss deserves to talk to you about this? I mean…" Ruby wasn't sure what else to say. This was so unlike her sister, to walk away from a situation instead of confronting it head-on. Of course she had Weiss's best interests at heart, but would this  _ really  _ be in her best interests?

"If I have any further contact with her, Winter will release the picture. I  _ can't  _ talk to her about. No matter how much I want to." Pulling at her hair even more, she was beyond caring how much it was starting to hurt. If anything the pain was just a distraction. "Don't you get it? My choice is either risk ruining her life, or look like a piece of shit. I can't win!"

"But you…" She knew she was grasping at straws now, but she couldn't just let her sister believe that the situation was completely hopeless. She couldn't believe it herself; that wasn't allowed. Nobody could put her sister in a situation where she had no choice but to hate herself this way. "There has to be  _ something  _ we can do!"

"I am doing something." Yang finally loosened her grip on her hair, giving herself that relief as she tried to calm her breathing. She'd had plenty of time to think of a plan while she was packing the essentials for Blake's, while she had to keep ignoring the nonstop calls and messages from Weiss that came the first two days. Now, there was just the odd one or two per day, starting to sound more and more defeated with each one. That had spurred on her plan. 

"I'm staying away, so she can find someone she deserves. Who she can be happy with. Someone who's not a circus freak."

Ruby sat bolt upright. "Stop it! I c-can't- you know I can't stand it when you say stuff like this, even if it's about yourself, I- you're not a freak! You're my beautiful, strong,  _ awesome _ sister, anybody would be lucky to have you, even someone as incredible as Weiss, and I… and I'm so mad right now!"

But the blonde just continued to stare outward into nothing. Occasionally she'd catch a stranger's glance again, and end up looking away and hiding herself. Her sister's words meant well, but when she was constantly being watched and pointed out, it didn't help at all. She felt like they were judging her, laughing at her. Like they had the exact same thoughts Winter did. The longer this was going on, the more of her confidence she was losing. The more she was starting to feel like Winter was right – that she was a freak, a sham of a woman. A fake.

And sure enough, she was beginning to sob again, voice high pitched and cracked thanks to the lump in her throat. "J-just… T-tell her I'm safe, I-if she's worried. You can't t-tell her what I told you about Winter though… Please."

The younger girl's voice was hushed when she said, "Don't do that. Don't… make me promise that, Yang - she's really upset. Not just a little, but a lot. Don't make me swear that I can't tell her…" But her voice already sounded dejected. She knew she would make the promise to her sister, and that she would keep it.

"I'm sorry…" Her own voice was just as quiet, just as defeated. "I'm sorry to put this on you, seriously, I am… but I have to protect her. I need to know you'll do that for me."

"Well… I'm not sure this is really protecting her. But I guess I can keep my lips zipped for a little while. As long as I think it’s not gonna hurt more than it helps. Wow, I'm so sorry this is happening, Sis - I thought everything was going so great…"

If anything, that made her sob yet again, finally wiping away the tears from one of her eyes. "It was.  _ God  _ it was, Ruby… That's why it hurts so much to know she's gonna have to hate me. Just don’t have any choice."

At this point Penny had finally made it back to the room, holding two bags full of food for them both from the cafeteria. But upon noticing Ruby was on the phone, she tried to keep herself quiet, only walking over to the desk to prepare each dinner quietly.

"Okay, um…" Ruby's silver eyes darted between her roommate and her phone, and she whispered. "I should go for now, but… listen. You are  _ not  _ a freak, you're not a bad person. And as soon as the semester is over, me and Penny are gonna take you out to Disney, or Knott's Berry Farm or something, okay? Just…" Her breath caught. "I know this'll be hard for a while, but you can get through it - and I can help, if you let me."

Finally, there was a shaky sigh from the other side the line. "I'll give you another call in a few days. Hopefully when I'm less… unstable. But if she asks… I'm safe. That's all she can know."

Penny looked toward her and mouthed  _ "Yang?" _ , having finished plating up Ruby's pre-prepared meal, handing it over to her. But Ruby didn't take it quite yet. Nodding at her very briefly, she turned back to the screen and said, "I love you, Big Sister. Keep yourself safe or I'll kick your butt." 

Then she gave an awkward little wave and disconnected the call. All Yang had managed to do was force a quick smile that didn’t even convince herself before it cut off. After which Penny passed over the plate of food again. Carbonara wasn't exactly doing to be a pick-me-up for something this drastic, but it was a start at least. 

"Is she alright?"

"Not even a little." But there was no use in moping; not when she was literally powerless in the situation. Didn't do much to improve her mood as she dug into the food, of course, but it at least kept her from getting any sadder.

* * *

 

The last part of Yang ’ s journey was seen through teary eyes. The phone call was necessary, the final thing she needed to do before she could get on with her so-called plan, but it didn't mean it hurt any less. Now was when reality was beginning to kick her in the gut. The reality that now everything she had was twelve hours and several hundred miles away. Her family, her sister, her lover.

Or now, ex-lover. Yang couldn't see a way out of this anymore. Not when anything she could do would result in her picture being made public. Her career would be destroyed, no doubt her father would have a few things to say, and it would ruin her. Until a time when the world was yet more accepting of people like Yang, or even the possibility their favorite popstar might be gay when she hadn’t already paraded out in a rainbow suit, all she could do was step back, and allow Weiss to live the life she deserved. Without her complications.

The call to Blake wasn't any more fruitful than Ruby's attempts to get in contact. It had been just a quiet voice, asking  “ Can I stop over for a few weeks? ”  with no further comments as to why. Nor any jokes or witty humor that Blake had gotten used to now that her and her best friend were back in contact. She obliged, but had no clue what to expect when she would finally get there. But thankfully she wouldn't have to wait any longer.

The dark-haired girl smiled at her blonde friend as she made her way toward the townhouse, having parked the bike in a safe enough place. All she had on her was her guitar on her back, and the small trunk-attachment to her bike containing her clothes. She didn't exactly look too happy either, which made Blake step up to be the first to speak. "So… How was the open road? Feel free enough for you?"

But while Yang managed to force herself to chuckle at the comment, it began to descend rather quickly into a disheartened gaze into nothing. And then to teary eyes, then to full on sobbing right on Blake's doorstep.

Instantly, Blake was bending down to wrap her arms around Yang's shoulders. "Hey… hey, girl, don't cry. What's wrong?"

If she wasn't holding the case, she would have hugged straight back. Instead, all she did was nestle her head into Blake's neck, quite literally crying onto her shoulder. And she did so for a good few minutes before she could finally bring herself to speak again. But even that was very few words.

"I-I lost h-her… I-I can't… everything’s- W-We can't…"

"Lost who? Weiss?" Gulping, she looked around the neighborhood nervously and then gripped her old friend's bicep hard as she tried to help pick her up. "Come on, you can tell me about it inside - I'll get you some water."

They managed it eventually. "Here," Blake breathed as she pushed the plastic tumbler full of ice water into her hands. The ice cubes were shaped like stars; apparently, she had a special ice tray and had decided she needed them. "Now… I mean, you're totally welcome to crash in my spare room, but there's no bed in there. Just an old futon."

"That's f-fine…" She wiped away some of the tears with her spare hand, before taking a large gulp of water. The ice cold was a definite comfort to the lump in her throat, and was more than enough to calm her down as well. Downing already half of the cup, she finally placed it down on the coffee table, returning her hands to her knees as she kept staring into nothing.

"I left Weiss… I had to, to protect her. God it's all such a mess…"

Nodding as she sank down into the couch next to her friend, Blake said in a soft, soothing voice, "Yeah, I kinda guessed that. Start at the beginning…"

So Yang did. Blake listened patiently while the whole story about Winter came out, the old pictures and the threats-that-weren't-threats, her sudden flight from the skyscraper where the diva made her home. As they went on, Blake mostly just nodded, though her amber eyes were downcast and sad.

"Wow," she sighed at last, running a hand through her black bangs. "That was a really dick move of her, blackmailing somebody just because she doesn't like that you're dating her sister. What a piece of shit."

"A dick with a point, though…" Yang was still no better off. The tears had stopped at least, but she was still blankly staring outward, unable to give eye contact to even her friend anymore. Deeply sighing, she shrugged her shoulders. "If she can find those pictures so easy, someone who's a professional could, too. It's her or someone else…"

"Um… I hate to play a devil's advocate, but what's to stop them from doing that anyway?" Shrugging, she got up and grabbed a box from the coffee table, pulling it into her lap. It was patterned to look like a stack of old books, but was actually wooden. "You're all over the news still, you and that killer song you two made together. So like… you really think the interest is going to vanish just because you left?"

"Well duh. Of course they could. But if her and I aren't together, them finding out about me isn't going to damage Weiss's reputation, is it? If they did and it's me in the dirt, I don't care. But I can't let Weiss get smeared because of me… I just can't."

The other girl nodded as she opened the box up and began sifting through its contents. Some bits and bobs, a plastic bag. "You're doing better than I would. I'd probably have thrown that Winter jerk out on her ass and let the chips fall where they may, but that's just me."

"As soon as she called me 'sir' I wanted to punch her in the face…" At the thought, Yang's spare hand was clenching into a fist. But when she put the cup back down on the table, it was only then she noticed Blake's box. "What's that?"

"Something important," Blake told her as she opened the bag - and a sharp, earthy aroma filled the room. Taking a pinch of small green flakes from inside, she began stuffing them into the bowl of the pipe in her other hand. "Why didn't you punch her in the face? That sounds a lot more like you than running away, even if you were worried about your girlfriend."

Slapping a hand to her face, she pinched the bridge of her nose as she thought about that, and eventually groaned rather loudly. "I know, I know. But she’s my girlfriend's sister.  _ And  _ my boss's daughter. I'm pretty sure if I'd have been fired if I did punch her."

But within a few seconds, she sniffed the air. What was that? Yang recognized it, and yet she couldn't put her finger on just what… 

"That's fair, I guess… well, not  _ fair  _ but it makes sense. About the least 'fair' thing I've heard of in a thousand years." Then she passed the pipe over to Yang, holding aloft a silvery Zippo lighter. No explanation was given, no hesitation; she just expected her to already know.

And then it finally clicked what that scent was. And what Blake was holding towards her face. "Hoooold the fuck up." She pushed the pipe slightly away. "Is this a hash pipe?"

"No, it's a half-pipe," Blake snorted sarcastically. "And I want you to grind it with your skateboard, bro." When Yang still looked between her and the pipe as if they were both independently crazy, Blake rolled her eyes. "Look. You just broke up with Weiss, and you couldn't control that. Wasn't your fault, you didn't do anything wrong - and you still ended up in this huge mess, being the scapegoat for her sister's bigotry. Now, I have some ice cream in the freezer, but all the ice cream in the world won't do you as much good as a few solid puffs of Mary Jane."

Yang continued to look between the pipe and Blake again. She was completely serious about this. She herself had never touched the stuff, only heard of it in passing and knew a couple of colleagues at Junior's used to smoke up. She was pretty sure Junior himself was on something stronger.

Holding the pipe, she chuckled to herself. "Y'know, never in a million years could I have guessed that my ex, who was such a goody two-shoes she'd never even kissed anybody before me, was gonna be teaching me how to get high."

"Oh," Blake said, trying her hardest not to laugh, "You're holding it backward. Here…" Turning the pipe around, she placed it back in her hand and then held up the lighter. "I'll do this part. You put your finger on that hole in the back; that's the carb. You hold that while you pull the first time, to help get the herb lit. Then you take your finger off and inhale more."

"…In English?" she teased. But holding it just as Blake asked, she knew she had the right idea. Once the herb was lit and the smoke was on it's way, Yang looked down toward it, taking a deep breath in…

Which was a huge mistake of course. Straight away, Yang ended up coughing and spluttering terribly, feeling her throat starting to close back up again. In a strained voice she managed to ask; "What the fuck was that?! Jesus Christ!"

This time, Blake couldn't suppress her laughter, and she pounded Yang on the back while her hand held the pipe still so none of the smoldering embers would spill. "That was your first hit! Huzzah!"

“You fu-” She had to break off to do more coughing. “OW! Ugh, couldn’t you have shown me-” More coughing “-how to do it first?”

"Yeah, that's fair, that's fair. Just wanted you to get first crack at it since… I mean, your need is greater than mine right now."

Taking the pipe from Yang, Blake raised it to her lips and pressed her finger against the carb, flicked the lighter again. Yellow flame sparked into life, then was drawn down into the bowl of singed green as Blake pulled in for a moment. Once her index finger slid off the end, the already-red weed glowed yet brighter. Then she lowered the pipe, looked casually over at Yang…

And nothing. Not for several seconds; no smoke came out. Just when Yang opened her mouth to ask what was going on, Blake finally blew out a heavy cloud directly at her. She coughed yet again, right away wafting her hand in front of her face to rid the smoke. But all she got in return was a smug grin from the woman in question. This still completely warped Yang's mind… That she had talked to Blake after all those years, and now she was getting high with her in her apartment. And they were having fun with it! 

"Eww!" she laughed, taking the pipe back from her. "Keep your smoke to yourself, you damn filthy stoner."

"No," Blake told her defiantly. Then she bumped their shoulders together with a small smile. "I promise this is going to help you a ton. I mean, you don't have to - I'm not gonna kick you out if you wanna stop here, obviously. Just, I strongly recommend you try one more time first. See if you can get the hang of it - but try to kind of… 'eat' the smoke, almost."

"Eat the smoke… That sounds so weird, but I'll give it a shot."

Bringing it to her lips, she copied exactly as Blake did, letting the small amount of weed begin to burn as she pulled. Then she removed her finger, watching as it burned brightly. She could feel the smoke, only this time, she attempted to do as was recommended, taking in a small amount that bit at a time rather than just straight up inhaling it.

Satisfied, she lowered the pipe from her face and looked upward, blowing her own cloud upward and into the air. It was the strangest thing she had witnessed for a good while…

"Wow, that was a lot better," Blake said, actually impressed. "Then again, you've smoked enough cock by now…" Snorting, she slapped a hand over her face. "Damn, this stuff acts fast - I normally don't start spewing out stuff I really shouldn't for another ten or twenty minutes!"

"I still can't believe that you of all people smoke this stuff. You never even touched a cock before me," she teased right back. But Yang wasn't feeling any different just yet; if anything, just a little depressed. Had she taken enough? Maybe not. Looking back at the pipe again, she asked, "Can I go again? Or is this a one-shot thing?"

"Hey, go for it," Blake said with a shrug, laying the box of paraphernalia aside for the moment. "Any other day, I'd give you hell for bogarting the pipe, but like I said, this is all you this time. You need this."

"This is just all so new, it's still screwing with my head…" She kept talking about the pipe rather than anything else. Thinking about things may just make them worse if she kept going, and this was Blake's offer to try and help her get better. Taking another hit of the weed, she breathed out the smoke into the air again.

It was only now she was starting to feel the contented buzzing… and a slight numbness in her head. Like something had been opened up. It was a weird way to describe it, but it fit perfectly. Blake wasn't wrong.

Taking the pipe from Yang, Blake hesitated with her both of their hands still on it, eyes narrowed at her old friend. "Ohhhh yeah. You're feelin' it now, I can see it." Grinning mischievously, she raised it to take her own hit, then hesitated to say, "And I mean, I'm sorry if I seemed pushy about it before, but maybe now you're starting to get why."

Sitting right back on the sofa, she stared outward for no reason. She nodded to show she had paid attention to her, but was somewhat out of the conversation entirely. That was until she asked, "So was this your version of Break-up Ice Cream back in the day?"

"Huh?" Blake breathed out along with another plume of herb, lips pursing very slightly toward the end. Then she turned and asked again. "Back in what day?"

"Back when I… Ah crap." She cringed, closing her eyes tightly as she looked to one side. Was this how she was going to get over things? By going over and asking awkward questions about her other relationship. But when she seemed not to mind, she asked, "When it was me?"

That made Blake nod. She looked very slightly less comfortable with the conversation, but perhaps because of the chemicals now in her system, setting off reactions in her brain, it was a barely-perceptible difference.

"Nah. Back then it really  _ was  _ ice cream, and maybe a few appletinis at Junior's. I didn't pick up this habit until a year or so later. Some girl named Coco I worked with was always trying to get me to party with her, and I put her off, and put her off, and put her off…" Realizing she was starting to ramble, she giggled. "Buuuut not forever. Eventually I tried it, and it was just… freeing. Easy, and nice. Helped the troubles melt away, helped me relax."

"I can see the appeal. I mean, I just went for a shit tonne of booze but now that I think about it, that's really expensive…" She was beginning to ramble herself. Two hits were enough of the weed for the time being. It was enough to make her feel numb, but open her mind when thinking of what to say. And one thought…

"Wait, Coco… Tall girl? Never takes off her sunglasses or beret?"

"Yeah, that's her," Blake answered offhandedly, breathing out another hit of smoke; this time, she managed to make a tiny ring that slowly made its way up toward the ceiling. "And this shit can be expensive, too, but my guy has pretty fair prices. Nothing like what you'd see out in Colorado, though…"

"Maybe we should road trip there…" Although she was impressed by the ring that faded on the ceiling itself, she was clearly thinking herself, until she raised her hand up to snap her fingers. "Okay, I just remembered! That Coco girl was that girl I fucked… Like way back in school at a party I wasn't supposed to be at. Small world."

Blake was staring over at her with wide eyes, hand raised to pass the pipe back to her again. "You are shitting me. Yang, you are totally shitting me right now - you banged  _ Coco?! _ That sassy asshole?!"

She stared at it a moment, debating whether or not to take another hit. But in the end she did, accepting it from her hands for a moment and getting it ready. But she continued first, "Dude I was, like, fifteen? She was a little older. I was a hormone-driven little virgin and we were both drunk as fuck. Put us in a room together and of course we'll end up banging each other's brains out."

"Well, I can tell you from experience that she was the lucky one in that equation," Blake laughed as she watched Yang took another long pull from the pipe, still full of disbelief. "You're a much better kisser - and I mean, we remember how the rest of it went."

Blowing it the smoke again, and attempting to make a ring just like Blake did, yet failing miserably, she looked back over, still holding the pipe to herself for a small while longer. She certainly did know the rest. With her mind buzzing as much as it was, she found herself grinning as she remembered the moments together. Even the sappy stuff. "I liked how you'd kiss me on the neck to try and get me in the mood, but then act completely innocent about it… Please tell me you do that to Sun, because he'll love it."

"Oh, God!" she laughed, mortified and covering her face with both hands.  _ "Stooop! _ I was such a little dumbass…" Then she lowered them and pointed at Yang as she said, "What about you, with your smooth 'I'll act like I'm stretching so I can put my arm around you in the movie theater' routine?!"

But Yang only continued to smirk, and eventually gazed right back at Blake, raising her eyebrow. "What about that time  _ in  _ the movie theatre?"

Now Blake was squirming a lot more, cheeks reddening both from laughter and from that memory. "See? Even back when we were dating, you had way better moves than Coco - even if they were a little… primitive. And she kisses like she's a dog trying to lick a fire hydrant."

"Dude, dude dude  _ dude; _ you banged Coco, too?!" Yang assumed, finally passing the pipe back over to her again. "I mean I get she gave you this stuff but wow."

"Wh-WHAT?! Oh shit, I said that, didn't I? Or not said it, but…" Thoroughly embarrassed, Blake had to sit still with the pipe for several minutes before she was able to continue.

"Yeah… I made out with her a few times, some heavy petting. We didn't really… um…" Her hand gestured a little too widely to be normal. "We weren't like you and me were, it was just when we were really stoned and feelin' it, but yeah. Kinda." Then she leaned very, very close and whispered, "I didn't lose my virginity to her like you did, though! Man… I mean, was she good? At that, not kissing; we know she's not great at kissing. She got better toward the end though."

"Nah you only lost your virginity to me." Ending up leaning right back into the sofa, and slightly into Blake as well. She wasn't lying about taking a few hits to unwind completely, all she wanted to do was giggle and/or sleep. But she didn't, she answered Blake's question after a bit of thought. "It was… embarrassing? We ’ re talking eight-ish years ago, though… I couldn't make her finish, she had to do it herself while I made out with her. Or more, while I got a dementor's kiss."

"DEMENTOR'S-" Now Blake laughed so hard that a few tiny bits of weed jumped from the pipe onto the floor, despite her best efforts. "Shit! That's-  _ ffffuuuuuckkkk!!!!" _

Yang was too giddy and giggly to care, and simply leant against Blake even more. "She was okay up till then, but like, how does someone think sucking out your soul is a way to kiss? I've had better kisses when Zwei licked my face!"

"Right?!" When she looked down at the pipe, she noticed most of the herb was ash, so she managed to push herself to her feet. "Whoa…" Wobbling, she glanced over her shoulder and said, "Be right back," and headed for the bathroom, carrying the pipe with her.

While Blake had left her on her own, Yang kept sinking further and further back into the sofa, only now taking the opportunity to rest her arms across the back of it. She was tempted to do it while Blake was sat with her by habit, but stopped as soon as she mentioned it was an old tactic of hers.

Not that those thoughts of Blake were back. That ship had sailed, which was a firm belief even when she was high as a kite. But some cuddling and giggling wouldn't hurt, not after the miserable half week she had just endured.

By the time Blake got back, she was tilting her head and staring toward the ceiling, clearly deep in thought about something. "Ready for round two?" Blake was sighing as sat, reaching for the box. As she did, she caught sight of the look on Yang's face and said, "Or… are we? You okay over there?"

Still staring up at the ceiling, Yang tilted her head in Blake's general direction. At least to let her know she was talking to her. "If Plastic is made from dead dinosaurs… And dildos are made from plastic… does that mean I've been fucked by a dinosaur, or that Weiss fucked me with a dinosaur?"

Of course, Blake dropped the Zippo in surprise at the bold statement. "Whoa, whoa, WHOA, she  _ what?!" _ Then she laughed slightly as she retrieved it from the floor. "Woooow, girl, you guys were deep in it if she was willing to buy dildos! I mean, especially when they have to go where yours go."

"Oh it was pretty deep alright. In both ways if you know what I mean… eh??" She was back to giggling again, face creasing up as she tried to stop herself from having another giggle fit. Although upon noticing Blake was going for more of the weed, she started to smile. "Remind me to get some of that one day, this shit's good."

"I'll hook you up before you leave, if you want." Packing the bowl a second time, Blake cleared her throat and asked, "I mean… I knew you said you took it in the ass when you were with guys. Kinda figured that. But I guess I wasn't expecting you to keep doing that if you're with… you know. A vagina-having girl." Then she flashed a sheepish grin over at her old friend. "Sorry if I said that in a dumb way."

"You're fiiiiiine." There was emphasis on that part as she finally looked back toward her again, eyes half closed in her happy daze. "I was surprised too. There I was showing her a nice  _ hanfu  _ I bought, then next minute there's a biiiig blue strap-on in my face."

"STRAP-ON!" Blake was literally gaping at her, jaw almost to the floor. "Wow, you guys- that pop princess actually…" Then her brow wrinkled. "What's a 'hanpoo'?"

Now Yang was in her giggling fit however, face creasing up yet again as she wore a ridiculous grin on her face. Blake now knew that a popstar who was once famous for her Christianity was apparently quite the freak in the bedroom. And that wasn't even the half of it. Though the pronunciation of the dress also didn't help her giggling. "It's 'Hanfu', it's like a nice dress. Something we wear at formal occasions."

"Something trans people wear at formal occasions? Why did I not know about this?" Finally finished packing the bowl, she raised it to her lips as she asked, "Does Laverne have one?"

Laughing yet again, she sat herself upright so she could be ready to take it after Blake. "You dumb fuck, try the  _ other  _ minority I am. Y'know, the Chinese side?"

Blinking, Blake sat there for a few seconds as she processed that information. "Ohhhh." Then she smiled over at Yang. "You were always kinda… resistant to your heritage. Didn't care much. That's great for you if you're embracing it more, like… yeah, man. Be all the parts of who you are, and stuff."

"Was more to shut dad up and sate Weiss's curiosity. Though it did look really nice I think…" Then gradually her smile was slipping. Still dazed, but slipping. "She's got the pictures though… I'll have to show you another time…"

Blake didn't notice at first; she was too busy hitting the pipe. Then she looked over as she blew out the smoke and saw Yang backsliding into melancholy. She looked at her for a minute, contemplating. This could get a lot worse if things kept going in that direction.

"Hey, wanna try something fun?" she said with a wicked glee.

Blinking a couple of times, she looked back around to her, tilting her head. That was a smile she recognized… But couldn't remember why. But she was too dazed to care. "Fuck it, whatever it is, go for it."

Still grinning and trying not to giggle, Blake took another huge drag on the pipe, sucking in far more smoke than was usual. Then she motioned for Yang to lean closer, turning in her direction with tiny wisps spilling from the corners of her mouth. Looking toward the smoke coming out of her mouth, she wondered just what she was up to. She had suspicions, but was too stoned to care.

Her suspicions were well-founded. The hand holding the lighter pulled down on Yang's chin just enough to open her mouth, then leaned in and pressed their lips together - but instead of kissing her, she started blowing the smoke hard and fast into Yang's mouth. And without warning, Yang was breathing it in. Thankfully she wasn't so unprepared she was coughing and spluttering like the first hit, but she never expected to be locked lips with Blake again. But again, she was too stoned to care about drawing back straight away.

Eventually she did however, and breathed the smoke out toward their side, ending up staring into the dilated pupils of her 'tutor'.

"…Well."

"Huzzah, Yang Xiao Long - you have just been shotgunned." Blake was smiling a secret smile, one Yang would remember all too well. A smile that displayed opportunities to her. But she didn't do anything else, didn't move in again; she just held up the pipe and lighter for Yang to take next.

Yang looked back down at it a moment, and then back toward her. Once again, the smile was beginning to come back. Tonight, Yang was going to forget everything for a while. Forget that she was still upset about what happened with Winter, forget the boundary she had set herself of 'never going back'. She was going to be selfish.

Taking the pipe, she copied just what Blake did, taking a deep breath in and holding it in her mouth. And then she took Blake's lips, breathing it out into her mouth just as she did for her. That was the first step, but she sensed there was more to come. This time, Blake also drew back to breathe the smoke out… but only an inch or two. They were too close, too intimate for just smoking buddies.

"This is… good stuff," she whispered, licking her lips. Yang's had been on them a second ago, warm and soft.

Even if she was still holding the pipe upright, Yang waited until both of them were finished exhaling the smoke, before she acted on her selfish instinct. In four years, she never forgot that smile, or what it meant. It was one of those things she knew by heart. Their lips met, and she was kneading against them slowly and intimately. At times she bit her lips, others she was lightly gasping for breath. Everything about it was needy, like she'd been deprived of it for years.

There was a surprised "Mmmhh!!" from the brunette when Yang changed the game, but she didn't resist, didn't pull away or stop her. After the first few seconds, her body began to respond, lips smashing back with as much passion and desire, hands coming up to wrest on Yang's sides instead of taking the pipe and lighter back. The familiar feeling of their mouths entwined gave way to tongues seeking out each other in record time, and quiet sighs of contentment came out through her nose here and there.

Memories were starting to push out the more recent ones. She remembered what Blake liked after all this time, memories brought back by her own 'style' of kissing. She brushed her tongue against the side of Blake's on occasion, still sometimes breaking to gasp and sigh in contentment.  _ 'God I missed this,' _ she thought to herself, expression loosening from its melancholy to that of relaxation. A breath of cannabis was one thing to calm her down, but the breath of Blake was another altogether.

All the while, she tried to keep a hold of the lighter and the pipe, but that was getting increasingly difficult. After some time, Blake seemed to realize that the pipe was still in play. She drew back with a needy moan of regret and took them away from Yang, raising her pipe to her mouth without another word.

But her eyes… they stayed on Yang this time. It was as if she couldn't look away from her anymore. Didn't want to.

Just as Yang did with her. Maybe it wasn't in the same loving way she would have done those years ago, but it was still a need. A selfish need to try and pick herself up, and have what she wanted. Screw what anyone else thought, she was going to make out with Blake. And she was going to like it. No one could stop them, not even…

"Oh, fuck…" The dazed eyes closed shut tightly for a moment as she cringed. She never moved away, but the passing thought couldn't go unannounced. "Your boyfriend… Sun…"

"Right… RIGHT!" Blake set the pipe and lighter down on the coffee table very carefully with shaking hands, then turned to gape at Yang. "Shit, I was just chilling with you and totally forgot… that might be a  _ thing, _ right? Oh man…" Running a hand through her hair, she flopped back against the couch. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done this… I mean, shotgunning you, turning it into something else. Too far, and you just got here and everything!"

Yang ran her own hands over her face and dragged them downwards, pulling her lower eyelids with them a moment. Why did that thought have to come up  _ now? _ When she was so stoned off her ass she couldn't think straight! Even if she wasn't panicking, which would have been a very Yang thing to do given the situation, she groaned outward.

"No, it's my fault," she began, looking down at the pipe again. "I shoulda just asked for ice cream as soon as I got in, or shoved you away… Awh fuck, I've ruined everything again…"

"Nah, dude," Blake soothed her as she petted along her glorious blonde hair. "You're fine, it's not…" Clearing her throat, she pulled Yang in and hugged her tightly. "You didn't do anything wrong. I got you stoned, and I'm the one used to handling my high. I was trying too hard to cheer you up and not thinking about how I was doing it, so… I'm really sorry, okay?"

Looking downwards toward the floor, she said nothing. Not agreeing, not disagreeing. They were both to blame, deep down Yang knew it. But with all of the self-hatred she was still feeling from the past few days, she couldn't believe it. She could only put the blame on herself.

And the flood of memories started to come back, as did the crashing reality of what she had done. She kissed someone else. Her ex. Her ex who was in another relationship, while she still was trying to get over hers. Even if she had to leave, it still felt like cheating. Cheating on the woman she loved with her best friend. And that crashing reality had bought the tears back into her eyes, and made her fall forward against her own knees, putting her face against them as she cried loudly once again.

"Fuck," Blake breathed, clutching at Yang's back all the more tightly. "God am I an idiot… don't cry, Yang, I d-didn't mean to make it worse…" But Blake was already crying herself, from the mere fact that Yang was. "I was g-gonna get us ice cream next… I'll get you some if you stop, okay? Damn it…"

"I-I just… ruined your relationship too…" she sobbed, but instinctively leant into her warm hug. Even if it felt like the worst thing she could do, she was still so desperate for intimacy she did it anyway, nuzzling against her. "Why do I ruin everyone's lives?! What did I d-do to deserve this?!"

Blake pulled back to gaze into her face, one hand gripping her neck hard. "You're not ruining anything! This is just a… weird thing, we're old friends who are  _ really  _ high right now! I don't care, Sun won't care - it's not gonna be a big deal, I promise." 

She didn't make eye contact, or at least she tried not to. All she did was continue to let the tears fall. Maybe the more recent events were salvageable, but she felt there was something that wasn't. "But I ruined everything with Weiss now…"

“ Shush with that, ”  she told Yang, kissing her cheek gently. Like she was made of glass.  “ You did the best you could with a horrible situation …  I don ’ t know if I could even have done as well as you. Seriously, God, I would have clawed her eyes out if that was me! ”

Looking downward into the ground, Yang couldn't think of anything else to say about it. She did all she could, or, all she could without making things violent. Maybe that would be the better option. Or…

"Maybe she's right…" Yang said quietly. "She was young and never had even a kiss before me… Maybe I did take advantage without thinking about it…"

"Don't go down that road. I went there after we broke up and it didn't get me anywhere." Then she cringed. "Damn, shouldn't have said that; I'm not trying to make this about me. But yeah, I felt guilty about all kinds of shit, and blamed you sometimes, and I mean… what was the point? When it comes down to it, we would have torn each other apart if we stayed together back then, so it was just the best for everybody involved. Not that my brain was ready to admit that right away."

Sniffing again, Yang's sobs were starting to die down. It was only tears that continued to fall. "But this is different…" she began, hunching her shoulders. "We both had personal problems back then. I was discovering myself and you were still really anxious about people in general. Me and Weiss?" She was starting to ramble. But again, she was too stoned to care. Even if it was getting personal.

"I'm more or less done with my growing. But she… she has so much further to go. She hates her own body, hated it to the point she nearly cried when I first saw…  _ all  _ of her. And she's insecure of how people will judge her… How her father will judge her. A girl that's been repressed so long and I was the only one that treated her like a person… Of  _ course  _ she'd have felt things for me! But I should have held mine back, been a good enough person to let her grow more rather than take advantage…"

Tears were still spilling down Blake's cheeks from before, and Yang's tale didn't help anything. "You're such a good person… even though you were just trying to do what you thought was best, you still beat yourself up like this…" Her hand came up and began caressing Yang's face, thumb smoothing over her eye and nose on accident in her altered mental state. "You didn't take advantage of Weiss, okay? She's an adult, you're an adult, you were adulting together. It's just… one of those things."

Things had died down. Now she was just back to the same state she had been for the past few days. At least, now with the addition of being completely relaxed thanks to the weed. That was one plus side at least. After a moment of staying in Blake's grip, she sighed.

"Maybe I should think about this more when I'm not high as a kite."

"Maybe," Blake said with a shrug. "But I mean, sometimes being high helps me think shit through. Gives me a new perspective." She smiled cautiously as she added, "And I'm not going anywhere either way, you got that?"

Thinking on that for a moment, she backed herself up and out of Blake's grip. Only so she could lean forward and rest her head against her shoulder instead. It wasn't exactly anything like a hug or a cuddle, but it was all she had the energy to do, and the only way she could show Blake she was grateful. All that followed was a small whisper.

"Thank you."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From here on in, there won't be any Freezerburn for quite a few chapters. Don‘t worry, it won‘t be forever, but there will be a lot less of them interacting directly for a while – and there will be other ships instead (we'll try to mention it in the pre-chapter notes though). You have been warned.


	23. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: More Bumbleby in this chapter. Drug use, truth or dare, striptease

**=Chapter 23**

The rest of the evening was spent with Blake's 'very important Breakup Supplies'. More weed, a tub of ice cream, a delivered pizza with all the toppings and a cheesy comedy flick. Both of them had spent it huddled on the sofa, with no further comments or moves made since their hazy kiss. It was enough to bring Yang out of her sobbing state before she eventually left Blake's company and retired to the spare bedroom, and slept away the rest of her high on the sofa.

And she was still fast asleep when there was a knock on the front door the next afternoon. Sun had just gotten off a shift after a big wiring job, and had already agreed to head over to Blake's for his weekend off. Blake had told him Yang would be there for a few weeks, perhaps even a month or two, so he had brought a few things in his bag in an attempt to cheer her up. A few older generation game consoles and lots of snacks. But he didn't expect that the two of them would have had some of their own herbal remedies.

"Sorry," Blake hissed apologetically as he glanced between her and all the empty pizza boxes, ice cream cartons and scattered beer bottles. "She's just… in really bad shape. I'm blowing through my whole stash twice as fast as usual trying to keep her from getting depressed again."

"Y'know weed isn't the solution to  _ everything,  _ right?" He sighed again at the amount of trash in the living room. But right away went to help clear things away, starting on picking up the bottles one by one and loading them into his hands. Curiosity was having him wonder how many were Yang's and how many were his girlfriend's. "I mean it's fun, yeah, but are you sure this is a good idea for her right now?"

"It's the  _ only  _ idea. Letting her stew and sulk isn't going to get her anywhere." When Sun didn't seem mollified by such a viewpoint, she rolled her eyes and added, "Can you honestly say that's good for her? You didn't see her when she got here, man… she was in bad shape.  _ Really _ rough. It was either that or drive her straight to Six Flags, and I didn't already have tickets for that in my 'box of magic tricks'."

Shaking his head and looking toward the  number of bottles that remained, even when he was holding six, he laughed, "Blake, booze, weed, even roller coasters are just distractions. Stuff like this, you gotta let yourself be sad before you can be happy again. Cause essentially, it's grieving, y'know? She lost something really huge – a part of herself."

The bleak look in her eyes bordered on haunted. "I… I know. But she's not ready to face the whole thing head-on yet. I'll keep an eye out, make sure she doesn't go overboard. Don't you think I'm talking to her here and there, as well?"

"Well yeah, of course. But I just think she needs conversation more than a hit." He shrugged his shoulders, gathering the rest of the bottles all in one plastic bag to dump them. "But then again, you know her best, I guess. I mean,  you’ve got  a past, and you've seen her at her lowest."

"Yeah… yeah, I have. And this is the worst she's been since she was first transitioning. She's a fucking wreck, Sun. This thing with her would-have-been sister-in-law… I don't know. That bitch really found all her weak spots and exploited them just right – and I could throw her into a trash compactor for that. She might never bounce back from it completely."

"Maybe not for a while… but as long as we keep an eye out, make sure she knows she has friends, she'll be fine. There isn't a risk she'd try to…  _ you know what, _ is there?"

That brought Blake to a standstill. Eyes wide, she walked straight up to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. "If that happens… you know what? No. That's not happening, period. I just got her back in my life, and there's no way I'm going to fail her as a friend. Not twice in one lifetime."

Then she turned to stomp upstairs and wake said friend from her weed-induced slumber.

Yang was figuratively dead to the world. In a half asleep, half-awake stage, fully sprawled out over the makeshift bed, even with an arm and a leg hanging over the side, she continued to snore peacefully. And she had no plans to stop herself to get up, just lay and sleep for a few more hours. But that wish was about to be interrupted …

"Rise and shine, sleepy head," Blake called through the door. At first. She wanted to start out gentle and work her way up to loud eventually; it wouldn't do to be overly mean to the poor girl after the few rough days she'd been having.

From the other side the door a low toned whining could be heard in exchange, followed by the obvious sounds of her rolling over as she strained her voice.

"Five more… hours."

"Nooo, not five more hours. Now!" Silence. "Come on… don't make me come in there!"

Groaning yet again, Yang only covered her face with the bedsheets. Even if she wasn't stoned any longer, she was at least too tired and slightly hung over to care about anything anymore. Far too tired to be concerned that her upper half was naked, and Blake was about to come in and see it.

There was a pronounced sigh from behind the door. Then the knob rattled and it swung open. "Okay, dude, I know this isn't the high point of your life, but you can't just lay around all day, doing no… nothing." 

_ Nothing _ was right; Yang's full and perfect breasts were out there on display. And Blake wasn't sure how to feel about that. Not sure at all. Especially since she hadn't seen them in this state before; with two linear scars beneath each one, both much bigger than they used to be. Obviously Blake knew she had them, but had yet to see them fully in the flesh.

But as soon as Yang recognized Blake was in the room, she threw the sheet off her face, and held it straight over her chest instead. Not as if to hide it, but more like a child about to throw some kind of tantrum. "But it's still earlyyyy…"

Blake's smile was both relieved and bemused. "Oh, it is, is it? You know it's like, afternoon, right?" But instead of pushing the matter further, she came and sat on the futon in front of Yang's pelvis, nestling herself in the sweet little spot. "Hey," she sighed as he hand began to drift up and down her naked arm. "Sorry, I'm not trying to be a dick. Just… Sun is here, so maybe we could all watch a movie or something?"

"Is this before or after we tell him we made out?" she groaned. But did as she was asked, sitting herself upright to make some sort of effort towards getting up. “Ugh… what truck hit me?”

That reminder made Blake's face pinken very slightly, but she did her best to push through. "Umm… okay, I was gonna ask you if you remembered that happening, too. Guess that saves me the trouble." Fidgeting with her fingers, she shrugged, "So. You're… ready to tell him with me, right? Since it's kind of both our fault."

Yang shrugged her shoulders. She didn't exactly  _ want  _ to tell him it happened. In fact, she slightly regretted it happening in the first place. Slightly. But hiding it was only going to make more guilt, and hurt an innocent party. Besides, in the face of everything with Weiss, this barely mattered.  This time, more aware that she was half naked, she held the sheet up against her chest as she stood. 

"Yeah. We need to get it over with."

"Your body really is gorgeous," Blake told her in a would-be casual voice. There was a little too much nervousness in it to be believed, but she had tried to keep it sounding like an offhand comment; something to help Yang feel better.

And it did. Even if she didn't want it to, the compliment made her cheeks begin to turn red again. Hearing that from Blake, someone who had seen her before transition, meant the world to her. Especially since Blake loved how she was before, but seemed to equally like how she was now. The way Yang wanted it to be. She leant down to fetch her shirt from the ground, deciding not to bother with a bra today. Hopefully she didn't have to leave the house. 

"Thanks,” she finally made herself reply. “I'm pleased with it, even if a lot of people don't think I should be."

"No, you… I mean…" Trying for a hammy comedian tone, she said, "I like what you've done with the place!"

Throwing her shirt on while she had her back turned to Blake, she managed to force a small chuckle, turning back around to her once she was covered up. “Thanks.” Boxer shorts and a top, that would do for the day. If Blake allowed it, that was.

Pushing to her feet, since it seemed like Yang was ready to leave her room, she blurted, "Seriously, though, you look great! I think you did before - and I mean, just with the wig. Not 'as a boy' before you transitioned." Clearly flustered, she whispered, "You're just really pretty is what I'm trying to say, even if I'm saying it wrong."

It only continued to make Yang smile again. At the very least, it was another person on her side. One less person to call her a circus freak and actually learn to respect the work she had put into making her body reflect her soul. Definitely a positive.

"Thank you, really… I was kinda worried you'd freak out. Since you're not used to me having… well, jugs."

"True, it's… new," Blake laughed as they finally left to head downstairs. "But I knew you were planning on getting them, so it's not really a 'shock'. Just new."

By the time they made it downstairs, Sun had mostly finished tidying the living room. The one who actually lived in the place felt ashamed that she had let it get so bad when normally, her townhouse was quite tidy. Having Yang around had regressed her to her college days, it seemed. Picking up the final bag of trash from the ground, he looked at the two women standing in the doorway. Yang expected to be shouted at for it, but that definitely didn't happen. 

Instead the boy smiled, looking right at Yang. "Hey buddy. How'd ya sleep?"

It brought a sigh of relief to the blonde bruiser, who rubbed her eye with the ball of her hand to try and wake herself up. "Good… the alarm clock's annoying, but yeah." And then she gave a small smirk toward Blake.

"You're welcome," Blake muttered, then cleared her throat and said to Sun, "Sorry for making you pick up after us… I was gonna get it later, I promise."

"It's fine, seriously! Yang's not up to it right now and you're helping her out. I'm just doing my part." 

He smiled happily at them both, heading straight into the kitchen from the living room and dumping everything accordingly, even the recycling. In fact, the happier he sounded, the more and more Yang was beginning to feel guilty. They were about to deliver some decidedly unpleasant news. That feeling was made worse when she heard him call out just as happily to them.

"Oh, I bought some old consoles for us to mess around on! A hacked Wii so we can play a bunch of old SNES games, PS2 - even my old Dreamcast! Thought we could all rage at one another on Sonic Shuffle or something."

Blake also had the good grace to glance at Yang with a grimace, clearly also thinking about their lapse in judgment the night before. "Sonic Shuffle? Wow,  _ that's  _ a blast from the past!" was all she said, however. 

"Hell yeah it is! You know what I'm like for retro games. Found it in a thrift store for fifty cents, I keep saying they're worth going I-" When he entered the room again, he caught the both of them looking glumly toward the ground, and his smile began to fade. "Uhhh… is everything okay?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Perhaps "fine" was stretching the truth, but Blake knew it wasn't a lie, either. Nothing was truly wrong, no one had died, and no one was hurt. Regardless, she tried to get this topic out of the way quickly, efficiently. "Um, remember how we talked about whether or not we'd… be okay with an open relationship before?"

Sun tilted his head. There was an increasing amount of worry in his expression. And yet, not as much as Yang had expected. "Yeah, I remember; I’m not getting  _ that _ old yet . What's up?"

"Well… this isn't really that! Not at all! But it's in that general area." Glancing over at Yang, she sighed and decided it was best to get it out and over with - but with a minor adjustment. "Last night, I got a little too stoned and kissed Yang."

Which made the blonde's eyes widen. That was wrong, Yang was the one that kissed first. Blake had just taken the blame for it instead. She was about to raise her hand to correct it, but was interrupted.

"That's it?" Sun asked, looking back and forth between them both, clearly unimpressed. "Seriously? I mean, come on, getting stoned and making out sounds like par for the course. You always get a little touchy-feely when you’re high."

"Well… I know, but with our history…" Blake shrugged and looked down at the floor. Maybe she couldn't explain why she felt guilty despite their previous attempts to discuss this possibility; logically, she shouldn't. "Guess I just feel bad because you weren't here and I didn't ask if it was okay, or something."

"Look, I know you guys have a past. And I know it was pretty… big." He pushed a hand through his hair, scratching the top of his head, looking to one side as he thought about things. Although he then looked back up. "But the breakup wasn’t super messy, and you're best friends now, for crying out loud. I trust you, Blake. And I trust that Yang's someone you know and someone who won't hurt you. It's way better than some random dude or chick I barely know."

That flabbergasted her completely. Glancing between the two blondes, she said with a nervous laugh, "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're actually  _ encouraging  _ me to bang her again!"

"Well no, I'm not encouraging it. More like… how do I put it… Don't ask, don't tell?"

But as he continued to scratch his head nervously, Yang was only just beginning to come to terms with what was happening. Blake's boyfriend was not only okay with what was happening, but was fine if it continued. Or even if it increased all the way into the bedroom. Not only that, but the first thing Blake went to was the possibility of them sleeping together again. Did Blake really want to?!

For her part, Blake was clearly as stunned as she was. The room was silent for a few more seconds before she awkwardly swung her arms a little, then said, "Ohhhhhh-kay, then. Guess that's, um… that's how  _ that _ goes. Yep."

"Just one condition: don’t do any of that stuff while I’m around. Keep it between you guys. Cool?" 

"Cool…" It was the only word that slipped from Yang's mouth after all that as they watched Sun head for the bathroom to keep cleaning up. Everything had happened so quickly. Within the space of a few minutes, Yang had gotten up, barely dressed, and  _ apparently _ was now in a causal relationship with her ex again. After barely a week of being away from Weiss. Was that normal? Or even, the best thing for her? She needed the attention - craved it, in fact. But a part of her felt horrendously guilty. If Weiss were to find out…

No, that wouldn't happen. Yang was determined of that. She couldn't even tell Ruby of this if she rang again. As far as anyone was concerned, Yang was still just crashing at Blake's while things died down. As she planned in the first place. Besides, maybe the single kiss would be as far as it went; no use panicking over nothing.

Blake caught her elbow and whispered into her ear, "Wow, I am…  _ so  _ sorry this went this way. All I meant to do was clear the air, and now he thinks we're…" Her voice cut off from finishing that. "Not that there would be anything wrong with that, but it totally was  _ not  _ what I meant! Even if that kiss was nice, we're not required to do it again!"

"It's okay." It wasn't. That was all Yang could think to whisper back to her as she was still trying to process it all. But she hadn't the heart to say anything against things, not just yet at least. Only thing she did bring up, however… "Look, I'm still tired as fuck right now. Y'mind if we just chill out a while and worry about this later?"

"Oh… y-yeah, totally." Blake looked down to her socks as she followed Yang into the living room, chagrined. It was written all over her face that she thought she was messing up a lot, but she tried to simply put it out of her mind. She cleared her throat, glanced sideways at Yang, and called out, "So, Sun… you said you have Sonic Shuffle?" 

"Yeah! Mario Party on the Wii, too! Want me to set it up?"

Yang only paced toward the sofa, sitting herself down and sinking into it yet again. At times, her gaze went straight back to Blake's 'box of tricks' on the table. It was both the solution to the problem of being so upset, but the cause of this new mess she had gotten herself into. Maybe none of this would have happened if  she’d turned it down in the first place.

* * *

A little over a week passed without much change. Blake would go to the office during the day where she worked as an administrative assistant, and Yang would laze around staring at bad soap operas and hating life. Though the brunette worried a lot about that, she knew these kinds of things really took their toll so she tried not to be too judgmental. Of course, if nothing had changed after a second week, she'd have to intervene.

Meanwhile, having her around again was complicated, but good. She still really loved Yang after all these years, had missed certain things about the way they were together. There was a comfortable fit to them, a familiarity. It was even easier than her and Sun, which already felt like the most natural relationship in the world. Both of them were jokesters, and both had an easy confidence, but Sun was the one who acted more like a little boy, with the childlike wonder that brought her back from the rigors of the professional world effortlessly. Yang, on the other hand, was the drunk college friend who needed to party like there was no tomorrow - even though the "need" to find an escape stemmed from a different place now than it did back then. Both blondes were fun, in different ways. 

How did she wind up with  _ two Asian blondes?! _

Friday night was such a relief; now she could spend all weekend with a much less morose Yang Xiao Long. Maybe it wasn't normal, but she had found herself bouncing with excitement at the prospect all throughout her workday, humming as she typed, chuckling quietly about something Yang had told her the night before. If she didn't know better, she'd say she was-

_ 'Nope, not going there,' _ she thought at herself pointedly as she opened the door and slipped the keys back into her purse. Clearing her throat, and the cobwebs in her mind away, she called out, "HEY, I'm home!"

"Welcome back, honey!" That wasn't Yang. That was the cocky voice of her boyfriend coming from the living room. While she was away, Sun had pulled a day off due to a really low number of jobs. Rather than wait for a response from Blake, he went straight over, and had been in Yang's company all day. Both were currently in the midst of one of Sun's favorite activites: Bad Movie Night.

It seemed like it was working for Yang, as she was staring at the screen while their film was coming to a close, hands outstretched towards it like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. "Why does ninety percent brain capacity mean time travel? What the actual FUCK?!"

"Oh, looks like I missed the party," Blake snorted, smiling behind their backs. They were so cute together; she was almost thinking of them as her little blond bookends. "Mind if I pick the next one? I was thinking about ordering some Chinese."

Yang snorted to herself. Already in a giddy mood from the movies, she looked over to Blake and smirked. "Why order more when there's all this Chinese on the couch?"

Sun had picked the wrong time to be drinking more of his beer. That comment made him dribble some down his face against the bottle, quickly putting it back on the table when he laughed loudly, having to hold his stomach. "Holy shit, Yang! You racist!"

Blake was rolling her eyes, but eventually the look of Sun's face with all that beer running down it got her laughing, as well. "You dorks. Fine, if that's the case, I won't have any delivered -  _ you'll  _ make it. I want a half order of pork fried rice and some crab rangoons, alright?"

"Dude you say this… as if I know how to cook?" Yang commented, patting the space on the sofa between her and Sun to get her to sit down. That was one problem with Yang as a house guest: she had no idea how to cook, or where to begin. In fact she barely knew how to do the dishes or clean, even after all these years. But she was at least half-assing those things.

"I know you don't, but Sun can - and you can learn!  _ Riiiiiight?" _

The implication was pretty clear; she would try to learn, or hear no end of things. She leant her head back and groaned at the ceiling. "Do I have to?"

But Sun could tell exactly what Blake was after. Anyone could just order in food, but it wasn't the right thing to do necessarily. And while Yang was still in a glum mood when having do nothing but watch TV all day, this was one of those cases. It was better to try and motivate her rather than allow her to let herself go further down that road. Hopping up to his feet, he immediately helped Yang to her own. 

"Yeah, you do! This isn't college, you can't have take out every day. C'mon! Pork fried rice is easy! Assuming we have pork… and rice… and a can of peas, and vegetable oil, and…"

Plopping down in the warm spot Sun had just vacated, Blake gave her new roomie's receding backside a little push with her hand. "Go learn, go learn! I'll be here when you get back."

"Nyeeeeeh…" Yang continued to protest, but she was being pulled away into the kitchen by Sun before she could make any real effort to stop it. Even if she knew her friends wanted to keep her active, she lacked the motivation. That had been lost since the abrupt breakup two weeks ago. And it would take far more than cooking to bring it back.

Still, Sun persisted anyway, and could be heard from the back room giving Yang instructions. Seemed it was his turn to play the nagging friend this time.

About twenty minutes later, Blake wandered in and took a deep inhale of the air, noting the scent of pork mixed with simmering oil. "Mmm, smells good so far." She snaked her arm around Sun's bicep and pulled herself closer to him, trying not to disturb what he was doing with his other arm.

Instinctively, Sun pulled her inward, giving a soft kiss on the top of her head while he continued to turn the pan back and forth, letting the rice fry evenly with the chunks of meat. He managed to get Yang busy with tasks that didn't require much effort, like getting plates and trays ready, and preparing drinks. Although while Sun had asked for squash, Yang had instead fetched three more bottles of beer. She was insistent that their night wasn't going to be a sober one, even without telling them. The main giveaway to that was when she reached to fetch the bottle opener.

"Slow down, girl!" Blake laughed as she watched Yang determinedly work on getting them drunk as soon as possible. "I know it's Friday, but…"

"Oh come on, why not? I can give you money towards it if that's what you're worried about." She'd been very slightly drunk all week. Even if it was never enough to get fall-down plastered, it seemed a necessity. Like she couldn't  _ not _ have it.

But Sun shook his head, finally taking the wok off the heat as he paced toward the plates. "It's not the money we're worried about, it's the rate of intake. Don't you wanna slow down a little?"

"Right, exactly." But Blake decided she shouldn't push any more. They had said their peace, and it would be up to Yang to heed the advice or disregard it. Forcing the issue would yield no positive results.

"Oh please don't start," Yang sighed, holding one bottle firmly and the opener in the other. She hadn't opened it yet, but showed no signs she was going to put it down. "It’s just a pick-me-up."

"Your liver will need a pick-me-up if you keep drinking beer every night! We can get drunk another night, okay?" Sun was insistent. Of course, there were other ways to get the same relaxed feeling, ways without booze that Blake had acquired, but the two hadn't touched that again since that first night. Blake feared it was a habit she didn't want to get Yang too into, since it was expensive. But it would be better than beer for her health.

"Sun," Blake finally whispered, turning her head aside so that Yang couldn't hear her as easily. "Let her have one. I… kind of agree with you, and I'm glad you're looking out for her as much as me, but she's still pretty fucked up."

Deeply sighing, he looked between her, Yang, and the beer she was holding. Running his spare hand through his hair again, he eventually gave Yang his full attention again. "Alright, whatever. You can have one, but I don't feel like getting drunk tonight."

_ "Fiiiine."  _ Yang exaggerated, popping the cap off the one in her hands and going back to one of the other two she had pulled out, holding it up and tilting it back and forth in Blake's direction. "What about you, Kitten? You want one?"

Blake's hand came up to take it, then froze. Her amber eyes flicked to Sun very briefly, hesitant, before she cleared her throat and took the beer to hopefully distract him from something she'd rather not get into.

"Y-yeah, I'll have one. That's my limit tonight, though; getting super trashed  _ and  _ stoned never mix very well."

"Oh brother…" Sun rolled his eyes, instead turning around to plate up the rice. Blake knew Yang best, and saw no point in arguing with them. Nor did he see this as a time to be trying to talk Blake out of getting stoned again.

But Yang however seemed to brighten up when Blake mentioned the latter part. It had been a week after all. "Can I join in on the stoned part?"

That had the raven-haired girl pursing her lips. "Yes. We'll try it once; Sun will be pretty sober so he can gauge if you have a good reaction or a bad one. But if you start freaking out or having a 'bad trip', we're forcing you to drink coffee and sober up whether you like it or not. Deal?"

"Deal." Yang nodded, already starting to head back into the living room with her beer in hand, seeming much more perky and happy already.

Leaving Sun to pick up both his and her plates. Before Blake collected her own, he had to say quietly, "Don't make a habit of getting her stoned. I know you know her best, but just be careful."

"Yeah, I know you're not down with this," she said, only the tiniest bit irritably. "Me doing it too much, or her doing it to avoid pain, and that it's not good in the long run, and all of that. Just… she needs more time before she can confront it, and I'm not going to stop her from doing what she thinks she needs for now, alright?"

He sighed once again. It was clear he wasn't going to win this. "I'm only trying to look out for you both. I'm worried, too. But I'll take your word for it if you think this is for the best. But please, just be careful?"

"I will, I promise. Really."

Then Blake followed him into the living room, where they put aside their worries in favor of a night of frivolity. Blake was more affected by her beer than Yang was, due to her slightly lower BMI, but with it only being the one bottle it was more than manageable. For Sun's sake, she waited until she could feel the effects wearing off somewhat before breaking out the magic box.

"Now, we're only doing one bowl," she warned Yang as she prepped it. "Gotta save some for tomorrow, right?"

"Awwwh…" Yang put on a pouty face, but straight away started to grin to show she was kidding. She was in much better spirits already; maybe because of the booze, or maybe the presence of two friends. No matter what it was, the thoughts of Weiss were seeming to diminish to a point she could handle them, as long as she had plenty to distract herself with. She did however then look toward Sun. "So, my fellow Chinese chef, you having some?"

Scratching the top of his head, Sun debated that for a moment. He himself wasn't much of a taker, only on the odd occasion when his girlfriend did in his company. And even then, it was mostly from her shotgunning him. "I dunno… My mom'll probably give me a lecture if I go home smelling like pot again. I was able to convince her it was just from one of the houses I went to for my job, but…"

"I got some Febreze after last time," Blake half-laughed, but she did have a sympathetic slant to her smile. "But you don't have to if you don't want to. We'll miss you while you're hiding in the bathroom, though."

He watched as Yang readied to take the first hit. No use in fighting it, not when it meant he could have fun with the two of them. "Ah fuck it, she'll be in bed by the time I get home anyways."

"That's the spirit." Yang grinned, inhaling the first breath of smoke before she passed it over to Blake, breathing it outward toward the ceiling. "What mama don't know won't kill her."

"Right," Blake said with a smirk as she inhaled deeply of the lingering smoke on the air. "Ahh… home sweet home." Then she hit it herself, pulling deeply and motioning for Sun to lean over so she could let him smoke in the usual manner.

"Hmm, a threesome with Mary Jane and Blake Belladonna? Don't mind if I do…" Sun grinned, climbing over the sofa and leaning right toward her, opening his mouth slightly so she could do as she wanted freely. Even if he wasn't supportive of her smoking so often, he wasn't going to turn down a hit if it was delivered via her lips.

Unfortunately for Yang, as she watched them both, it was causing a slight wave of jealousy. She couldn't put her finger on what the cause was, whether it was because it was that she had been exchanging smoke with her in the same way a week ago, or whether it was the fact they were a couple in general – stupid as that would be. She wasn’t in love with Blake. No, this was more about her general depression. Even if she was happier, there were still times when she found herself sinking extremely low when she thought back to what she had to leave: the relationship in general, and Weiss herself. There was a tiny voice inside her that wished it was Weiss that she was sharing this new sensation with, that she could be shotgunning the way Blake and Sun were doing right now.

When Blake pulled back, she was all smiles, offering the pipe to Sun, but he declined - as per usual. Then when she turned back to Yang. "Hey, you okay?" she asked, her grin slipping slightly when she caught the look. "You got a thousand-yard stare going on, and you've only had one hit."

"Huh?" Yang shook her head, suddenly looking back toward Blake again and faking a smile, taking the pipe gently from her. "Oh, yeah, I'm fine! Just… yeah, still feels weird. I'm so glad you're letting me do this again."

Of course, Blake saw right through her assurances; with a constant source of sadness like a breakup, she didn't even have to ask what she had been thinking about. So she just said, "No problem. Eventually I am gonna ask you to start chipping in when I have to go buy more, but I'd never tell you that you have to go get it, or cut you off unless it was becoming a problem for some reason."

"Oh yeah, definitely. I mean, my paycheck went through a little while ago and I… don't have anything else to spend it on…" Of course she didn't. Not now that she was lacking someone to spoil. Even if her previous girlfriend could have bought herself anything in the world, she still enjoyed buying things for her when she could. The hanfu being the prime example.

Yet again, Yang was beginning to slip back down. And Sun noticed this time. As Yang took another hit, he began to smile, giving Blake a slight nudge to get her attention as well, he took Yang's completely empty bottle, placing it on it's side on the table. "Hey Yang, how about a game of Truth or Dare?"

"Ooh, that's a great idea - and I have the perfect thing for this!" Pushing up from the floor, Blake sprinted into the kitchen and coming back with a small grey tin and a bottle of water. Slapping both on the table, she looked around at all of them with a wicked glint in her eyes.

"Whoever refuses to do either the dare, or tell the truth they were asked… has to eat an anchovy."

Yang’ s face was priceless. "Oh, fucking gross! Why you gotta make it nasty?!"

"Well, you better do the dares then, Blondie. Or be ready to tell us everything." Really, it was a distraction. Even if he was telling Blake it wasn't the best thing to do, he could understand that letting her dwell on things like this while high could lead to dangerous consequences. And he also was grateful that she had picked a non-alcoholic consequence for wimping out.

Not dwelling on it any longer, he spun the bottle, waiting as it spun on its side repeatedly. Around and around and around… that was until he regretted it. It landed right on him. "Oh, shit."

"Yes!" Blake laughed and clapped. "Okay, how do we wanna do this? Last person who spun asks the next person's question?" When neither of them objected, she shrugged and looked at him. "Okay, I’ll go this time. Sun… truth or dare?"

"No faaaiiir…" Sun complained, folding his arms and pouting. But by now, a few minutes had passed and the pot was beginning to take effect. "Alright, Dare."

Blake pursed her lips in thought. In reality, this look on her face had a lot to do with why Yang called her "Kitten" - but she tried not to think about that. Old memories, some of which were bittersweet.

"I dare you… to do a headstand for thirty seconds." This was definitely going easy on him. Not that he did headstands all the time, but he was at least fairly athletic and could manage such feat. Though it would probably make him at least a little nauseated…

"Oh, that's it? Easy!" He grinned, standing up off the sofa and pacing over to the clear area of the living room. As soon as Yang shuffled her legs away, there was plenty of space for him to kneel down, holding his hands either side his head as he pushed the rest of his body upwards. It took little to no time for his legs to be perfectly straight, and he remained in that position perfectly easy. There was barely any strain when he spoke. "Hah, might as well spin it! I got this in the bag."

"That's me spinning?" Blake did so, watching as the beer bottle went around and around. For a second, she thought it was going to land on Sun again, but then it moved just enough to end up pointing at Yang.

"Haha, nice! Okay, Yang, tee or dee?"

"That bottle is clearly racist," Yang joked, but sat back as she prepared for whatever punishment they were about to deliver. It would be the lesser of the two options this time. "Truth."

"And me do the question this time, right?" Sun asked, only just beginning to bring his legs back downward to finish off his dare. He'd lasted more than enough time. "Okay… why did you call Blake 'Kitten' earlier?"

Blake ducked her head, blushing. She had really been hoping that he would forget about that! However, it wasn't up to her, it was up to Yang - a stoned  _ and  _ drunk Yang.

"Hoooo boy." Yang leant back, staring up at the ceiling as she took another hit, breathing in the smoke and then releasing it into the air above. "Well, one day I compared her to a cat, because she was eating tuna straight out the can, with the brine barely even drained. But instead of giving me a decent human response…" She could already see that Blake was getting more and more embarrassed as the story went on, which only made her smirk all the more. "She let out this mewling sound with her mouth full, it sounded ridiculous! So I teased her about it, called her  ‘Kitten’  all day after that. But then, she would make meowing sounds when I stopped, so the name just kinda stuck."

However, when it seemed like Blake was about to respond, Yang leant in closer to Sun, whispering to him, even if it was obvious she could hear them; "Also when she snores, it sounds like a purr."

"HEY!" Blake burst out, pointing at her with an irate finger. "I do  _ not  _ snore, you take that back!" 

"You do so snore," Yang insisted. "And it's usually when you sleep really well. And that tended to be right after a really good-"

"Hey, Yang, your turn to spin!" Sun suddenly blurted out, having a feeling he knew exactly where that was going. Even if he knew they had a past, and had suspected the two were becoming close again with him not protesting, he didn't exactly want to think about it. And so focused on the bottle as Yang span it. And low and behold- "Hah! Your turn, Blake!"

Palming her own face, partly still from the earlier story and partly for the dark portents hanging over her head, she grumbled, "Ughhh… alright, alright. I pick… tru- NO! Dare! I'll take a dare, yeah."

"Hmm…" Yang put her hand to her chin in thought. This would have been easier if she had chosen the truth, Yang had plenty of ammo to embarrass her with that. But a dare was more difficult. And made even more difficult when she was feeling the effects of the hits taking place. But in the end …

"I dare you… to take off an item of clothing. And don't do that cheating with just a sock. Shorts or shirt, off."

"YANG!" She stared over at Sun, flabbergasted, but of course he wasn't going to complain; he loved seeing her naked. Not that she would be "naked" as such, but…

With a heavy, beleaguered sigh, Blake hurriedly unbuttoned the nice purple blouse she had worn into the office and whipped it off, revealing the equally purple bra. It was a bit lacy, but nothing one would consider overly sexual; just a decent bra from a department store. And it was doing a good job of hiding her chest from view.

Both of them watched of course. Her boyfriend for the obvious reasons, because he adored seeing every part of her body, even if it was only partially naked. And Yang because half of her was curious to see if anything had changed at all, while the other half was too stoned to do anything else. Sun managed to catch that Yang was staring a little too much however, and cleared his throat rather loudly.

"Remember that little rule, ladies," he reminded them, though after giving a cheeky wink to Blake, he prompted her. "Your turn, babe."

"Right," she snorted, trying not to feel too self-conscious. After all, they had both seen her goods before, right? True, for Yang it had been a few years, but they were still much the same. Shaking the stoned thought from her brain, she spun it quickly before taking the pipe from Yang.

And laughed as it pointed at Sun again. "Well, looks like the bottle likes you tonight."

"For fuck’s sake," Sun groaned, rolling his eyes. "Alright, truth this time."

Again, Blake was thinking… and she found herself stuck on a question. One she really wanted to know his answer to, very deeply - but she couldn't ask it. She had to take Sun at his word that he didn't mind if she slept with Yang again, even if this was a ready-made excuse to find out the truth once and for all. Of course, the fact that she wanted to know so much made her a bit nervous. She and Yang were just friends! Really good, old friends…

_ 'Who used to date,' _ her inner demon whispered.  _ 'And you know how good HE was back then. How good will SHE be now?' _

Wafting that away frantically, she went for a slightly easier question, one that was more funny than dangerous. "Okay… truth: do you think Yang is hot?"

"Whoa,  _ what?!" _ Sun yelped. What a way to suddenly flip the pressure to him instead! As he looked back around to a smirking Yang, who was even winding him up as she crossed her legs and posed as demurely as she could, Sun found himself blushing, rubbing the back of his head again. "I mean… Yeah, sure. Yang's pretty cute. And, I guess… hot, too. But if I'm honest, I'd be more nervous that I'd end up being the  ‘ bottom ’ ."

Such a response only made Yang laugh loudly. Now she was feeling way too stoned to care, she could easily jest with them both. "That sounds like a boy who's  _ curious _ about being a bottom, wouldn't you say, Blake?"

"Well," Blake sighed with a huge plume of smoke in Sun's direction, "he's been  _ on  _ the bottom lots of times, but… yeah, we haven't tried anything like  _ that  _ yet." Then she slapped a hand over her mouth, amber eyes like dinner plates when she realized how forward that was. "Oh God - sorry, Sun, y-you'd probably be happier if I kept that shit to myself, right?"

Sun's look of shame and burning red cheeks were all Yang needed to know. She continued to laugh at them both, now armed with this new information. The boy was curious, was he? But once she was done, she wiped away a small tear of joy from her eye, speaking to them both with a giddy grin. 

"Seriously, guys, I can say from years of experience; whoever told you nothing should ever go up there is lying. It's fucking  _ amazing,  _ okay?"

That made Blake turn to him, a would-be pleasant smile on her face. Her voice was carefully casual as she asked, "So… do I need to go buy something special for you, or what? No judgement, no pressure."

"Hey, you only get one question!" Sun blurted as he tried to hide his face with one hand. That was completely red by this point. But things were going to get no better as it landed right back on him again. "Oh come on!"

"HAH!" Yang laughed loudly again, eventually shuffling herself slightly closer as she put her hand on his shoulder, saying reassuringly, "It's okay, we won't ask about if you wanna get fucked anymore if you don't want us to; you and Blakey can talk about that in private."

"Hmph… You're both jerks." He huffed, folding his arms this time. "Truth, again."

"Alright, I'll make this a little easier on you, Sun - even though I thought a 'hot or not' question wasn't too horrible, it led, uh… weird places." Passing the pipe to Yang, Blake thought it over for a minute, then said, "Okay… where's the most embarrassing place you've ever been turned on?"

Yang immediately took the pipe and was beginning another hit again. She'd had more than anyone so far, but didn't care. If anything, it was giving her more of an excuse to zone out, and occasionally glance over at Blake. Blake who was still partially naked. Namely, her top half. She had missed seeing it, even after so long. Why did she miss seeing it?

But once Sun was speaking, her concentration focused on his speaking instead. "Well… back in high school, me and my pal Sage were getting changed after gym class, and I turned around to see his towel had dropped. Quickly turned back, of course - but then I was trying to conceal a boner I had for the guy all day. It was embarrassing as fuck."

"Oh?" Blake found herself stunned by this news. They hadn't discussed this much; Sun had mentioned he didn't think of himself as "very straight," but that was as much detail as they went into - and anytime they talked about finding someone attractive, it was always girls for him. Against her will, she found her body responding to the thought of him turned on by looking at another man - which was ridiculous! That should be a  _ bad  _ thing, shouldn't it? The last thing she wanted was to lose him to some boy with a nice ass.

"Well," she finally managed to make herself go on, flushed cheeks probably giving away her state of mind. "You, um… well. So you really enjoyed what you saw that much, huh?"

Sun shrugged his shoulders, ruffling his hair again nervously. "Sage is a good lookin' dude. I guess it really was… Hey, I'm not high enough for this, pass that shit."

As the evening wore on, more questions and dares were exchanged between the group, along with the remains of the one pipe. At some point, Sun had been dared to flash the other two, Yang had to remove a piece of her clothing as well - which thankfully she had chosen to wear undies that day so made it her shorts, and Blake had been dared to perform a fake pole dance on the edge of the doorway as best she could. Along with the exchange of equally damning truths of course.

Now the three were particularly high, the smoke having had plenty of time to have its full effect on them. They were nearing the last few spins according to Sun and the curfew time he had given himself, and as Blake spun the bottle one more time, it landed on the much longer-haired blonde, Yang. "Uh oh."

"Hah!" Blake crowed, clapping her hands way more than was necessary and almost knocking over her water. The cap was still off from Sun chugging after the anchovy he ate due to refusing to answer whether or not he would take “The Yang Wang” up his ass. "Okay, Goldilocks… what's it gonna be?"

"Oh boy…" Now Yang was far too high to think of anything. She was simply laying on the floor, arms sprawled out, legs crossed over one another to stop the bulge from showing too much - especially since the subject of banging Sun came up. Finally running her hand down her face, she said, "It can't get any worse. Truth."

"Okay." A few options ran through her mind… primarily sex-related ones, of course. She debated some questions about Weiss, but the last thing any of them wanted was for the good mood to evaporate in the wake of Yang's sadness. "Um… if you had the power to pick between being born with a vag but less attractive, and being the way you are now, which would you go with?"

"Huh…" That was a new one. Even if similar questions had come up before multiple times, through counsellors, her father, even Ruby at one point; Yang never quite knew how to answer. It was a part of her body she was curious of changing, but never saw it as a necessity. Not to her, at least. She was happy with what she had, it never made her feel dysphoric like her chest did. But to experience it for a while would be nice…

However, she immediately answered, "I could still be as attractive as I am now and have that chance. So to be honest, nah. I kinda like Lao as she is."

For whatever reason, Blake found herself smiling warmly over at her old friend. Was it because she liked that Yang still had that anatomy? Was she that selfish? But the more she thought about it… that wasn't really the case. She was simply happy her friend was comfortable in her body now. Reaching over to clap her on the shoulder, she said, "Good, that's awesome. Okay, spin one last time before Sun has to go."

"We better get it on him then." Yang smirked, sitting back upright to spin the bottle for the final time. Around and around, until finally, it seemed to do just as asked. Sun's turn. "Hah! There you go, monkey boy!"

"Hey, you guys are the ones asking me to do yoga poses!" Sun complained, folding his arms and pouting for a moment. But after rolling his eyes, he had to answer the request. No escaping yet! "Truth. Because I'm too high to do anymore poses."

"Awh, I was hoping you'd bend over so we could test if you really did want the Wang." When all she received in return was a growl from him, and a small giggle from Blake, she put some serious thought into the truth question. Sun was still a newcomer to her, she didn't quite know where the line was drawn in questions to ask. Especially when it came to his sexuality, which though was revealed more tonight, he was still sensitive about. But there were other areas she could ask about. Like the limits of Blake and his open relationship. 

"Hurry up and ask him," Blake asked before taking another sip of water. "And make it a good one; a real night-ender!"

"Okay, okay… how would you feel, if Blake was sleeping with me?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I'm sorry about this cliffhanger, on top of taking so long to get this chapter posted. Mod has had some hard times lately. No details... don't worry about it. Just too much going on in my head. But I'm going to try not to let that happen again until this whole fic is posted - and trust me, there are a looooooooooot of chapters left.


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: **BUMBLEBY.** Drug use, truth or dare, chasing, underwear ripping, sex without a condom. This chapter is mostly skippable if you‘re not into Bumbleby.

**=Chapter 24**

What a heavy question.  _ Did _ he care if Blake slept with her ex? While Yang expected to get blown off, or even raged at, Sun actually took a moment to think. He looked up at the ceiling, and began to chuckle, swaying his feet back and forth. 

"Blake's her own person. I mean, we're together and I love her and everything, but if she wants to sleep next to someone else, kiss someone else, even fuck someone else while I'm not around; it's cool by me. I trust she still loves me at the end of the day. I mean, what’s the point in me trying to make her  _ not _ do what she wants? Then she wouldn’t be happy. That’s no good. "

This yet-more-forthright permission from her boyfriend left Blake speechless. When he last said he didn't care, it could have been a joke, or at least less than serious. Now he had literally told them they could sleep together and they would have  his blessing. It made her love him all the more…

But also made her consider it, far more earnestly than when they had kissed. Her and Yang, again? They had both put a lot of effort into burying their past, and all the feelings that were associated with that time in their lives. Was it really in anyone's best interests to reopen that can of worms?

It wasn't too long after that Sun got a notification on his phone, which made him sit himself upright again as he looked out the window. Sure enough, a car was parked by the curb. "Well, looks like my cab's here. Time for me to be in it, and stuff!"

"Aww, already? But I was going to get the lube for you to test The Yang Wang." Yang continued to tease him, but managed to stumble up onto her own feet again to pace over to the other blonde. Immediately she wrapped her arms around him, patting him on the back; a rather masculine gesture, perhaps, but one Yang never broke the habit of. "Thanks for coming over today, man. Shitty movies were the best way to spend the day."

"You know it." He grinned in return, parting with her to help his girlfriend to her feet. Once she stood with them, he immediately wrapped his arms around her, and pressed a quick kiss on her lips. "See you soon, babe. And  _ no more weed _ – I mean it!"

"Okay, okay," she half-grunted, half-laughed. Kissing him back again, she walked him to the door before adding onto that. "Listen… about me and Yang. That's not- I mean, I’m not actually _planning_ on-"

"Look, whatever you both do, I don't give a shit," Sun repeated. He was well aware Yang was in the living room still, and unable to overhear. She was probably still too high to do anything about it anyway. "Like I said before, Yang's someone you know, someone I know now. Not some random stranger off the street. I trust her if you do." 

He looked toward the doorway one more time, just to make extra sure she wasn't there, before leaning back in closer. "But just ask yourself, are you prepared for what it’ll  _ mean _ , if it happens? She's still pretty shaken up about Weiss. Are you gonna be okay if you end up as her rebound?"

That single word crushed Blake in a way she couldn't explain:  _ "rebound." _ So what? Of course it wouldn't mean anything if they hooked up. She was with Sun, after all. Still… being merely another way for Yang to dull the pain besides weed and booze was not exactly a high selling point. Even if it was to help an old and dear companion.

"Thanks for looking out for me," was all she said, and she meant it. But her concerns were to remain private. Instead of sharing them, she hugged him and sent him on his way.

Now it was just the two of them. As she returned to the living room, self-conscious about her missing shirt and the flush that lingered in her cheeks, she also noticed Yang's missing shorts. And the bulge that was no longer being hidden by the baked blonde. Especially not when she had taken up the entire soda while they were both out of the room, sprawling out completely over it to make sure Blake had no room whatsoever. Still high as a kite, she was only giggling and chuckling to herself, grinning mischievously. 

"I'm a fucking couch now."

Luckily for both of them, that was the best way for Blake to have been taken out of the somber mood that Sun had started brewing within her. Snorting, she walked over and said, "Oh, are you? And how long have you known you're a sofa? Do you want me to go with you to pick out upholstery?"

"I've known since the beginning of time, that I want pretty people to sit on me… That's a sofa, right?" She swayed her head back and forth as she tried to fumble her words together. Credit given, she was doing far better than if she was drunk, but still made little sense. Especially when the sitting part was about to be tested.

When Blake made her way over and tried to move Yang's legs, she quickly used her foot to push Blake away. "Neeeehhh…"

"Fine," Blake sighed with a roll of her eyes. "You leave me with no choice, then; guess I have a new couch." 

Making a huge production out of it, she turned and sat down - right on Yang's pelvis. And right away, Yang was starting to lean forward, legs instinctively trying to pull themselves in and away, but it was no use! Blake had sat herself down, made herself comfortable.

Right on the bulge. One which was getting warmer every minute Blake was there, gaining stiffness that was starting to get pressed against Blake's shorts also. Even if she was too high to notice properly, Blake certainly would; she was more used to being stoned and not nearly so blissfully unaware while under the influence. 

And would notice even more when Yang tried to shuffle her hips around to try and get her off, yelling, "Cheater! Cheater!"

"How is that cheating?!" she giggled, doing her best to ignore Yang's body reacting. Maybe, subconsciously, this was why she had chosen that particular area to sit on but it was also where she had been standing in front of. Either way… t he warm erection felt great up against her rear through her shorts. Familiar, and hot. Already she could feel her own sex responding, starting to lubricate itself in preparation for what it expected to happen next.

And as Yang tried to lean up, she made a quick move to grasp Blake's arm instead, quickly yanking it toward her to pull her down with her. It had managed to get her off the ever-growing erection, but now instead, pulled her somewhere even more awkward. Pulled their chests right up against one another, their faces right near one another. Both with giddy grins and dazed expressions, both not a care in the world. But just like that first evening, Yang could feel Blake's breath against her lips once more. Far too intimate for close friends yet again…

Blake kissed Yang's cheek, a safer area. She whispered, "Best couch ever." Then she leaned down and left their noses touching, close enough that a kiss could be imminent, if one of them was brave enough to push inward. Brave, or reckless.

Maybe both. Yang found herself staring back into the amber eyes she had been with those years ago. Eyes she had once longed for, pined after. They'd been a source of comfort in the past, one only shared with the blue eyes of Weiss Schnee. In a way, Blake reminded her of her, the way she was overly cocky when it came to getting things she wanted, even a small giddy grin like hers. The more Yang stared, the more she was beginning to picture her ex-girlfriend, projecting her onto her even older ex-girlfriend. Not that she would tell her.

She instead acted selfishly, leaning up and pressing their lips together roughly. She was desperate for something – she wanted Weiss, but Blake was no consolation prize. Comfort was what she needed right now. Without even thinking about it, her hands fell to Blake's backside, grasping her cheeks firmly.

Immediately, there came a startled moan from deep in Blake's chest as she felt the pressure so close to the area she had been straining to ignore. Yang was really going for it! Even up until that moment, Blake had never dared expect this would happen; too much history, too much pain in her ex's heart from both two weeks ago, herself, and all the lovers in between. Tears began leaking from Blake's eyes unbidden as she felt the outpouring of desire from below her, and she returned it with a hurricane force from inside of herself that had been held at bay by uncertainty and "the right thing to do", and a million other things that no longer mattered. Now, all she wanted was to feel more of the girl beneath her.

Feel more she would. Feel those grasping hands at her rear move up to her back, slowly bringing themselves upward and resting on her shoulders instead. She would feel one of her them entering her hair, lightly scratching her scalp as she pulled her face in closer. She'd feel a tongue slide against hers once again, rhythmically back and forth.

Only this time, Yang's kiss seemed different to the first time they made out on that sofa. That time, she was well aware who she was making out with, and why; the single moment slipped by and they kept it from turning into more. But now everything was so muddled she didn't even know which way was up anymore. She just wanted the affection Weiss could no longer give. To the point she was picturing it was Weiss she was with right now – which she would hate herself for in the morning.

The more they writhed together, lips fused and hands roving, the harder it was for Blake to ignore the thick, rigid presence grinding into her hip. Much though she wanted to, it was there, so very there - and her intoxicated state made it difficult for her to back down or think rationally. Finally, when they broke for air, she seized on the opportunity.

"Mm, that was fun," she panted, turning her face aside before Yang could kiss her again. One hand was clutching hard at her shoulder while the other petted along her blonde hair. "Now… now I should let you get to bed. I'm so tired, I should, too… long day…"

Forced to come out of the daze instead, Yang looked up toward her and blinked for a moment, attempting to compose her thoughts. This wasn't Weiss she was making out with. This was Blake — her  _ ex-girlfriend,  _ Blake. A good woman, yes, and still just as gorgeous and sweet and desirable after all those years apart… but an ex nonetheless, one she agreed to not hurt any longer. Because that's all she could think she would do, hurt her.

Yet, she didn't move. She didn't continue, she didn't push away… only waited for Blake to make the following move. Only that could determine if this was what she really wanted after all, and wasn't just doing what she thought Yang wanted. But she did at least manage to keep herself still, bite her lip and keep from moaning.

“Yang…”  The hand came up from her hair to run through her own black bangs.  “We’ re both really fucked up right now in about a dozen different ways. Are …  you sure you want me? Want this? ”

The more she felt Blake shuffle around, the worse the problem situation in her undies was getting. Usually it would only get to half-length without direct stimulation, but now weed was added in the mix… a little grinding had her desperate for more. There were so many different voices in her head. Some screaming this was a mistake, some that she needed to stop now, others in the distance that were asking  _ 'What would Weiss say about this?' _ But those were the ones that pushed her forward in the end. Weiss wasn't there, she wasn't going to be there.  _ Ever again. _ And it would be a long long time before she could find someone she was so comfortable with that she could do this with, man or woman. Blake had the hard part out the way, she already knew she was trans. Anyone else would take days, even weeks to tell them.

And Blake still wanted her. There was no reason she should after all those years, the breakup, knowing she was on the rebound after Weiss… seeing her at her lowest point. It was impossible, yet the flush in her ex’s cheeks was unmistakable. If she didn’t take this opportunity, when would the next come along?

Licking her lips, she took the selfish option again. "Yes."

"Really? You're sure…" Her tone had changed very subtly, and her hips began to buck. "That you want to do things the way we did before? I mean, y-you’re a woman, so I don’t want to assume; I'd be flexible if you wanted to do this another way."

And the final nail in their coffin went in when Blake whispered, "But I mean, you remember how flexible I am."

"Hnnn…" Tilting her head to one side, she couldn't help but begin to smile at that remark, and the memories that came with it. A few thoughts came to mind of what she wanted to try, things she missed, good positions in general. But one in particular had stuck in her mind. And she knew she wanted to try it again. Not that she expected it in these circumstances.

"Not here," she spoke quietly. "In the… l-let’s go upstairs."

With that, Blake saw no point in beating around the bush any further. Pushing to her feet, she grabbed Yang by the collar and dragged her up into her arms again, reengaging their lips with such ferocity that it almost seemed like all her reticence from earlier had been an act.

_ Almost. _

Yang had no choice but to obey. Clutching and grasping again, one of her hands had a handful of her hair, pulling at it lightly to add a sensation of pain to the mix. Just enough to make things exciting. The other was grasping her backside, making it increasingly difficult as they were pacing towards the stairway in the midst of their kisses.

Next, the kitten did something she hadn't done with Yang in years. She stepped away, pushing Yang backward as she squeaked, "Catch me if you can!" 

Then she was off like a shot up the stairs. Yet again Yang had stopped for a moment, blinking repeatedly. She hadn't heard that phrase for at least four years. She knew its purpose was to get them up the stairs and frisky as quickly as possible, rather than fumble around forever on them. In a way, that 'no messing around' attitude made things even better. But it also reminded her of chasing Weiss around the tour bus, trying to snatch up ‘the princess’ and claim her… 

As she ran up the stairs after her, the blonde brute found herself less concerned about who and more about what they were doing. The indication in her underwear was more than enough to tell anybody where her mind lay. A week with nothing after steady sex for months could do that to a person. And now she had consent to release that pent up energy with someone, she found herself grinning, getting more into it. 

When she found Blake, she was all the way on the far side of the bed, smirking and waggling her hips from side to side, ready to dart at a moment's notice. Her hands slowly lowered to "paw" at the bedsheets, and both eyes were trained on Yang… and on what Yang was about to offer her.

"Mrrrow?" she tried. Silly thing to do, of course, but they had a history with it. The words and sounds of it were buried in antiquity, and reviving them felt wonderful, if strange.

It was definitely helping Yang. It was helping her separate this from Weiss. Even if pretending she was with Weiss again might feel good for a minute, it was unfair to Blake. She needed to keep the two separate so as not to hurt her feelings. With a low smirk, she tried to remember back to the things Blake liked instead. A few thoughts came to mind, like how she enjoyed Yang to be very dominating at times, by pulling her hair, biting her neck. But she needed to catch her first. Dashing forward, she hopped up onto the bed, crawling over immediately.

And Blake fulfilled her expectations, sprinting away from that side of the bed and toward the closet door. The look on her face was a little dazed from the substances in her bloodstream, but still full of pure glee otherwise. Nothing made her feel more desired than pursuit.

"Awwwh that's just making this hard…" Then she looked downward. "…Pun intended."

Hopping back off the bed again, she ran to the other side of it, trying to catch Blake as quickly as she could. It was after two more attempts that she finally grasped Blake's arm, and pulled her backward with her onto the bed. In little to no time, she crawled on top of her, pressing her pelvis right up to Blake's again. Only this time it was deliberate. That much was obvious when she began bucking gently. 

"You want this, baby?"

Blake panted, brain soaked with the adrenaline from the chase, and from lust for her old flame. Though her body might be different, her spirit would always be what drove her passions wild, she now realized. Yang was always Yang, was still Yang now even though her form was new. Better suited to who she was inside.

"Yeah, I want whatever you have," she whispered shakily, pretending to squirm under the body on top of her. "Give it to me… claim me…"

Once more their lips met in a frenzy. This time, there were occasional breaks, mainly for Yang to remove her shirt, and Blake to remove her bra. That was the upper half done for them both. Next was the lower. As she continued to assault Blake's mouth with her lips and tongue, she frantically tried to pat down and find Blake's shorts and attempting to shuffle them downward. She wanted Blake now. She  _ needed _ her now.

A groan started deep in Blake's throat as she felt how desperately Yang wanted those shorts off, as she helped make that happen. She was like an animal, and she couldn't remember her ever being that… ferocious. Hungry. Didn't even stop to pay her chest the usual amount of attention. The Yang she knew loved to savor the moment, to…

That wasn't right of her to think. The Yang she knew — Ying — might have the same soul, but she was also a person who had another several years of experiences between then and now. Not all of them pleasant. She had no right to complain, especially when every little action was driving her desire into the stratosphere.

With a groan of frustration, Yang finally managed to push the shorts down with her hands, using her legs to shuffle them down the rest of the way. Letting Blake kick them off along with her socks, she continued their passionate kisses as the hands trailed back upward. Back to the same place where she used to pay her attention.

A hand cupped one of her breasts, the other still stroking her body up and down. Before, when they were together, the amount of time Yang  would spend on Blake's chest was heavily influenced by her own desire for breasts of her own. She quite often used to touch and grope, dreaming of what it would be like on her instead. Of course, Blake somewhat knew that. But not to this extent. Not now that it seemed like the small grope was all she was getting.

Meanwhile, Blake decided she should keep up the good work - by raising her feet up to Yang's hips, catching the waistband of her underwear with her toes and gently sliding them down. This was a parlor trick she was probably  prouder of than it made sense for her to be, but it did save time. Now Yang was completely nude, and her hands fell to the firm, supple hind cheeks she had missed so much, kneading and gouging into them with her fingernails.

Only this time, while before it would have been a simple grunt of pleasure, Yang full on moaned into Blake's mouth. Tensing her muscles against the fingers massaging them, she parted their lips so she could moan again properly, and look down at those amber eyes.

But that wasn't what she wanted. Not tonight. Although in the nights prior to this she had craved for Weiss's touch there again, for someone to give her region the attention; that wasn't how she and Blake worked. She was used to being the more dominant one before, and wanted to do that again.

Once more; that position she thought of earlier had come to her mind. "Flexible?" she asked, one hand resting on her leg. "Think you can still get a leg on my shoulder?"

Blake only replied with actions rather than words, moving her legs out to either side and angling them up to perch ankles on Yang's shoulders. The position was a little bit of a strain, but it was very satisfying for both of them that she could still manage it after all these years. Of course… there was the unspoken truth of why she still could, but they weren't thinking about his role in her life at the moment.

"Good enough?" she breathed shakily, thigh muscles taut and the pressure on her stomach changing her breathing patterns.

"Not… quite," Yang breathed. She kept a hold of one of her legs, securing it on her shoulder. But the other she brushed aside. It was a slightly rougher position than what most couples would do when they were reuniting after so long, but there were ulterior motives to why Yang wanted to. In her subconscious, she remembered when she asked Weiss of her favorite position. And that this was it. Yet again, even though she  had separated Blake from Weiss, she couldn’t help chasing little ghosts of their relationship.

Except there was something she had forgotten. Blake's underwear. Which  was what she felt as she ground herself against her with her bare sex, she groaned about in frustration again. "How the fuck did I forget underwear?"

Grinning at Yang's observation, she offered, "You're a little too eager, maybe?" But when Yang didn't seem much comforted by that, she reached up and stroked along her bare arms. "It's okay, we can spare the five seconds it will take t-"

"Nah."

Such a simple response, but that was followed by an even simpler one that showed just how hungry she really was for this. When Yang's hands left her leg, they reached down to the underwear, both grabbing a part each as she managed to pull it harsh, and hear a rip. Thankfully, Yang had made sure to check they weren't an expensive type in any way. Just plain old purple cotton; not as fancy as the bra she was wearing earlier. Still, they were ruined now.

The smile fell off Blake's face immediately, replaced with one of mingling desire and anxiety. She had not been expecting that; even though they had torn clothing before in their frenzy to be with each other, that was a long time ago, when they were hormone-crazed teenagers. This had been a more deliberate act. Even though she didn't care about the underwear really, it was the blatant disregard for anything that stood between Yang and getting laid that stopped her heartbeat for a moment.

"O-oh," she finally managed as she felt herself being lulled back toward passion by the feeling of thick arousal against her untrimmed bush. "Th-that works too." Then she gulped and glanced down, ashamed. "Um… sorry I'm a little furry right now, it's…" She was two seconds away from saying "Sun doesn't care if I shave" when she realized that might not go over very well in this moment, so she simply fell silent.

Yang spared herself a quick glance downward toward the supposedly offending area. Not that she could say a thing against it. After all, her own was just as bad above her thick arousal. In fact…

"H-Hey… It looks pretty good from… um…" Seeing both her member and Blake's sex, both right next to each other and rubbing against one another brought home just exactly what was going to happen. She and Blake were going to have sex. After so many years of no contact, they were about to reunite with their bodies – cross the line they had set themselves to remain friends. While the violent red blush on her face was saying one thing, she was questioning the soundness of this decision once again.

"A-Are… you sure you’re okay with this?"

"I don't care if you don't care," she whispered with a shrug of her shoulder, still embarrassed and not realizing they had changed topics. "God, why didn't I just grab the razor this morning when I thought about it? I feel so stupid now!"

Before more of the thoughts could tell her otherwise or make her stop, she immediately shook her head to rid herself of them, took hold of Blake's leg and began to thrust herself forward against Blake's wetness yet again. Right in between her lips, back and forth, she felt her member gathering the warmth that was already there, making her cock glisten in the faint light. Even when it wasn't in yet, each push forward made her shiver, and caused a shaky moan.

That did the same for Blake, her back arching as she felt Yang preparing to enter. They were really doing this; she was going to have that beautiful example of phallic bliss inside of her body once more. Oh, how she had missed it - a lot more than she allowed herself to think about in the past few years. And as she looked up at Yang's golden hair, her soft, beautiful face, she was stunned by how womanly she had become all over again. And that it suited her perfectly, despite her memories of how she had been before, and her preference toward men. 

This was how Yang was always supposed to be, and it surprised her even more to find that she  _ preferred  _ this Yang. The true Yang.

"Here we go…" she whispered to herself, drawing her hips back as she lined herself up with the entrance. So many years had passed since she had done this with Blake, and in that time, it was filled with a range of emotions. Mostly crashing lows, angry outbursts, all to do with the changes and hatred of her body. Now all that was behind her, she was able to enjoy the highs. At least, she could if she wasn’t so screwed up by the breakup with Weiss.

But an alternate high had pushed the mumbled thoughts out for the night, and she focused only on herself and on the woman below her. Pushing herself forward, she gasped as she felt the warm wetness surrounding her sex once more. And she didn't stop there. She was so eager to get started, she continued until feeling her hip contact with Blake's thigh when she was fully inside.

The gasp of mingling surprise and ecstasy was familiar, comfortable. Not as pronounced as the times Weiss had made such a noise, not so taken aback; this was old territory for the older girl, and one she and Sun had covered in the interim between the last time Yang had invaded her and now. The leg on Yang's shoulder twitched obviously as she strained to hold in her reaction from being too negative or off-putting. They both knew she had tended to make inadvertent noises that sounded like she wasn't enjoying herself in the early days, and it still took a degree of control to suppress those.

"Ohhhhh, Yang… so good, you're so good… I missed you…"

Hanging onto her leg like it was her only crutch, she honestly didn't know how to respond. She  _ did  _ miss Blake. She didn't want to admit it, not with the feelings that were still very real, nearly as much as for Weiss; but she did miss the different scenery, those odd sounds she would make at the start, the way her body would occasionally twitch when it was first taken. Odd small memories she had forgotten up until now, all returned.

And Blake herself. She was a fantastic friend and a deep, beautiful soul. It was a shame it took this to make her remember that.

"Hmm…" She purred in response, beginning to draw her thick member back out again. As she looked down to her member, she could see just how much Blake had been wanting this just by how wet it was. She truly needed this. And Yang did too, shown when she immediately  thrust back in afterwards.

"AHHNNHH!" Blake moaned aloud, head thrown back and thighs doing their best to part further. Impossibly, it seemed to have gotten  _ bigger  _ since the last time. Not that she was complaining in the slightest.

And right away, Yang settled herself into a quick rhythm. There was a world of differences between her and Weiss, some of which were very intimate details, like how much easier it was to get going quickly with Blake than with Weiss's body. Possibly because Blake was so turned on beforehand, or because she was used to it. Then there were differences in their behavior. Weiss was very vocal, she liked to talk about how things  _ felt  _ and how they made her feel emotionally as well, along with moaning rather loudly and rhythmically. Blake on the other hand, she was more one to lay back and pant heavily, with the occasional moan when her sweet spot was touched. Animalistic.

Yang? Always the same. Always one to get into a rhythm, and moan rather quietly into her own heavy breathing, which she did. As she pushed herself in and out, she continued to grasp Blake's leg, even leaning her head against it to pepper it with small kisses. Anything she could give attention to, she would.

A quiet "oh!" fell from Blake's lips when she felt another set on her leg, lavishing it with affection. As she vaguely remembered, those lips were quite talented in many, many areas. If they were doing this again, maybe she would have the pleasure… but that was too much to hope for at this juncture. Maybe Yang just needed one good fuck, just once. No sense getting her hopes up.

Either way, the good fuck was definitely underway. Yang continued the firm thrusts into her, slamming herself right into Blake's body with more force this time. And then the speed was increasing as well. It truly was a carnal hunger, nothing but a dense craving she needed to satisfy. One brought on by a mixture of her sadness and the illicit substance in her system. Either way, it seemed to be helping. That was becoming obvious when she threw her head back, moaning out toward the air.

"Mmmmm, yeah," Blake moaned, letting her arms fall overhead as Yang took complete control of their copulating, grinding in and out  of her walls with exquisite, relentless force. Nothing mattered now but that tingling of her flesh around the massive cock, and the vision of the blonde delivering it into her with increasingly reckless abandon.

Blinking her eyes open as best she could, she tried to look down toward Blake again. The elated look on her face said it all; she was enjoying this. Enjoying it a lot. She remembered that face all too well even after four years. And no doubt her own was going to be a picture. Talking of which…

"Look at me," Yang asked of her. She remembered how Blake liked to be commanded, told to do simple little things. She wanted to see if that'd changed. "Look at… what I'm doing to you."

After a few more thrusts, her amber eyes fluttered open again and she craned her neck to look down. She could only see Yang's breasts bouncing rhythmically in time with her bodily movements. A mass of yellow hair and her own splaying toes. Craning yet further, she was finally able to glimpse what Yang wanted her to see.

One of her favorite things about their bedroom romps had always been the very different hair colors blending together into one. A thick trunk stretching out from a blonde canopy, reaching down into her own midnight thicket. Over and over and over. Her throat felt hoarse from moans and wails and smoking earlier, and trying not to cry from how beautiful it felt.

"God you're so… i-incredible!" She struggled to find a word as Yang continued the fast and hard pace. That one would have to do. Then the telltale signs began. Against Blake's pelvis, Yang's lower half was beginning to quiver, and her moaning was beginning to get higher in pitch. She was nearly there! Very nearly.

Only at that point did it occur to her: they had missed a step. One that was somewhat important. But she herself was too far gone to stop, or ask Yang to stop. Even just to pull out.

_ "Yang!" _ Blake screamed in her quiet way, softly intense, muted yet unhinged. She would do absolutely anything for her, she now realized. Anything in the world.

"Hah… Ah!  _ AAAH!" _ Yang's calls were ascending in pitch yet again as she delivered her last few firm thrusts. And then she was done for. She felt her body shuddering violently against Blake's leg as she yelled out loudly, and her length throbbing inside Blake's body. Felt it releasing its seed into the latex coveri-

_ Shit. _

As soon as the climax ended, and Yang was holding herself there while trying to catch her breath back, her eyes went wide. She forgot something horrendously important, something she should have remembered no matter what. No condom.  _ No fucking condom, _ what the hell was she thinking?!

Blake's face got stuck in the "oh" position when she felt hot liquid spurting deep into her, splashing against her inner walls. They had done it; Yang came inside her. That was something she had not felt in a very, very long time; Sun always wore one, and so had the boyfriend she had between Yang and him, and Yang herself before that. Any guy who approached her and wanted to "ride bareback" got the brushoff.

Until now. Despite Yang not being a man, she still had something that could change her entire life when handled improperly, as they had just done. 

"Shit…" Yang said aloud this time, using Blake's foot to push herself backwards and out of her. She didn't bother to take a moment to gaze down at Blake's body this time, something she used to do in the past; this time she was gazing out into nothing, mouth slightly agape as thoughts rushed through her head of what she had just done.

Then she was pulling at her thick blonde hair, hard. "Shit shit  _ shit!" _

"Baby, it's okay," Blake was gasping immediately; she tried to sit up, but she couldn't quite manage yet. Her legs were too shaky and her arms refused to support her weight. "I'm on Nexplanon - I mean… the implant. It's… you're okay, we're gonna be fine."

Taking a moment to herself to breathe heavily, she gazed downward blankly. Hands were beginning to loosen from the thick blonde hair, but she was at least not panicking. If anything, now she was simply angry at herself. "How could I be so fucking dumb to forget that?!"

However, Blake was distracted by something else. "Oh, I… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you ‘baby’." That pet name was automatic; she hadn't used it much, but she did for both Yang and Sun on rare occasion. But that was back when Yang was her ‘boyfriend’; not now. That definitely should not be allowed without some serious discussion. Her voice got a lot quieter as she repeated, "I'm sorry."

"I could have got you pregnant," Yang finally managed, still somewhat deaf to what Blake had been saying. Particularly, she hadn't heard Blake's apology, nor realized what it was about; this was the larger concern to her. Instead she just ran her hand through her hair, and shakily sighed. "Didn’t even stop to think, just… just jumped right in without a second thought… and I've always been so careful before. What's wrong with me?!"

Without another thought in her head, Blake reached up and pulled hard at Yang's body, hoping to drag her down on the bed next to her. There was a slight yelp when that happened, as she was pulled down against the bed and down by her side instead. It did the job, shut her up and stopped her complaining about herself. But when she lay completely blankly by Blake's side, it was obvious she was still thinking about it. And still thinking exactly on what they'd done in general.

"Listen. We're fine. I'm covered; I mean, I usually ask for a condom anyway to be extra-safe, but I'm… it's not going to hurt me." Sighing, she pet Yang's hair needily, regretfully. "God, I knew this was stupid - I shouldn't have let this happen while we're stoned, neither one of us thought this through…"

The petting had seemed to begin snapping her out of it. At least to the point when she was actually looking at Blake. However, she still seemed genuinely saddened about what had happened. And as she finally shuffled herself over to huddle herself against Blake, she sighed again. "I just can't believe I'd forget the risk; I never, ever wanted to hurt you."

But Blake was already shaking her head before she even finished. "No, you didn't hurt me. I know you would never do it on purpose, and like I said, I'm fine. Even if somehow the implant doesn’t head that off, there’s always the morning after pill. Nobody died, and everything’s totally okay." Her lips pressed against Yang's forehead. "Better than 'okay', if we're being honest, here. That felt… pretty, um…"

Blinking again, Yang was starting to look down at them both. Her reddened, spent cock was still so close to Blake’s little patch of dark fur. Aside from that, they were both completely drenched with sweat, and both still exhausted from what had happened. Only just beginning to realize that was what Blake was talking about, she smiled lightly. "Pretty… good? Or bad?"

"Pretty sure you know 'pretty good'," she teased back with an equal grin, resting their foreheads together as she began to recover from their vigorous activity. "Ohhh… shit. This is stupid, but if we never do this again, I'm kinda…  _ glad _ we forgot the condom; it was nice to feel you right up against me just once. And you felt so good in there, just you and me…"

_ 'Just you and me.' _ Yang thought about that comment rather deeply. It could have been nostalgia talking, a comment that Blake just used to make in the old days; or was there more to it than that? Did Blake really want it to be just them again? And forget Sun?

Yang didn't want that. She knew it from the very start when they were kissing. She wanted a vent, yes; somewhere to let out all her emotions and help her lose all the pent-up stress. Of course, it was also wonderful to get to visit old stomping grounds with a woman she still loved, in some complicated way or another. But she was still heartbroken from losing her white-haired starlet. And she would be, for a long long time. 

Either way, still high from the substances, she was in no state to think about it too much. All she did was begin to nuzzle into the pillows and hope sleep would keep her from having to care as soon as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks everybody for still hanging in there. I told you I would try to get the follow-up chapter posted much sooner and I really did, and here it is! Hopefully most of you are okay with a little Bumbleby because it will keep happening for a while. This is what a rebound looks like.
> 
> NEXT: we check in with Weiss!


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Weiss chapter.

**=Chapter 25**

“ You really haven ’ t heard anything? ”

The question was more a formality now than one Weiss expected to be answered any differently than the last thousand times she ’ d asked. Over the past month, she and Ruby had stopped talking quite so much about Yang, even though she still came up in conversation daily. Still, though it grew smaller every day, there was always that lingering connecting bit to their relationship: they were only friends because they both knew Yang, and Weiss missed her so much. No matter how much it shrank there was no getting around it. All she could do was try to make it as small as possible, for Ruby’s sake.

However, with no real news coming down the pipe, they found other things to talk about; Weiss ’ s invitation to sing the national anthem for a major league baseball game, the TV commercial she ’ d recorded. Goings on at Ruby ’ s college, even though the campus was quite dead now that summer had relieved it of most of the student body.

"Only that she's still safe, but nothing else. I'll let you know if there's any update." It was a little white lie on Ruby's part. Every week she had at least Skyped Yang, but every week, Yang made her promise not to tell Weiss where she was, or what she was doing. And it hurt. It hurt because not only was she seeing that her sister was slowly slipping into a stagnant mess of booze, or what she figured was booze; she had to also keep that information from Weiss. Her idol, her lingeing crush, and now, one of her very good friends. 

But the least she would do is tell her that Yang was in… reasonable health. Weiss had a right to know that. Leaning back lazily on her dorm room bed, she stared upward at the ceiling, heavily sighing, "I'm really sorry about all this."

Nodding, Weiss leaned back in the make-up chair that she had been lounging in for at least ten minutes. Waiting to be told what was going on. She was so bored, and even though she knew it was a bit of a first world problem, she couldn't help hating every minute she was wasting not doing something more productive.

"Not your fault," she eventually told the screen of her phone. "As we have discussed so many times… her reasons are her reasons. Maybe one day, she'll feel up to sharing them with us."

It hurt just as rough to hear Weiss talk about her in such a formal manner now. At least prior to this, there was emotion; evidence Weiss was feeling something toward her sister. Mostly pain, and longing, and bitterness that she was trying not to let fester. Now, it had descended into just another conversation topic. Like if she was to talk about an old friend from school. 

So instead, Ruby changed the subject. "So… this interview tonight, huh? I can't watch it live, but I can stream it later when it's on YouTube. You excited?"

"I suppose," she sighed, ever the glib celebrity. Though she revealed a moment later that she had a deeper reason than usual for sounding less than enthusiastic about this particular interview. "I'm following Neon Katt. We'll probably end up on the couch next to each other, knowing Lisa Lavender. She loves everyone to be all chummy." The last was added with the most saccharine smile yet from Weiss.

"Hoo boy." Ruby scratched the top of her head. When they first ever spoke, they talked about Neon Katt before, how they met at an awards ceremony. And both expressed a dislike for her music and choice of style in music videos. Not to mention, there had been one or two quotes flying around by Neon herself about the viral video of Weiss that Ruby had put out. This was going to be mayhem. "This is your first time talking to her since the video, right?"

"Yeah. I mean, I don't really care; it's fine." Not that her tone made that believable. "I can be professional, right? Go out there and pretend the thing with the song never happened. Yeah… yeah, I can do this."

"Oh, shit… How did I forget?" Yang was in that video. It was one of their most loving moments together, which was unfortunately on record for all to see. As much as people loved it, Ruby was beginning to regret uploading it. "I'm sorry… Hey, maybe they'll talk about Beach Fest instead?"

Again, all Weiss could do was nod and put her head in her hands, careful not to smudge her makeup at all. "Hopefully, yes. I mean, that's why the two of us are on this episode together, after all, isn't it?" Then she smiled weakly at the younger girl. "I can't even imagine how you find any of this interesting. So much for my glamorous lifestyle, huh?"

"Well it just… It's so different!" Ruby was starting to brighten up again. Mainly for the purpose of keeping Weiss happy, but still, talking about things like this brought out her passion and fanaticism. "To you it's just a job, but it's just so different to me, so amazing. That even though you're just talking about normal stuff for you, people are interested, you know?"

"That's true," Weiss sighed with a shrug. Then she saw an uptick of activity near the stage and turned back. "I should probably let you go - but I hope you get something out of it when you catch this on YouTube later. Wish me luck?"

"Of course. Good luck! And remember you can always call me." Ruby ended the call with that phrase every time. She knew Weiss appreciated someone other than a professional to talk to. A friend. Even if it was about issues other than Yang. Waving to the screen, she cut off the call.

Leaving one of the backstage workers to enter the room, holding the device in his ear to listen, before gesturing Weiss closer. "Two minutes. You want to come through?"

Weiss took one last glance at herself in the mirror. Make-up and hair were perfect, or near enough. She had gone for something a bit more conservative; a blue dress that fell to the knee with a white cardigan, white belt, and white sandals. The only bit of flair that made it somewhat less "plain" was a diamond cut-out just below her bust; she was hoping the little flash of skin would prevent her audience from calling her an old lady. Not that it mattered much at this point.

Idly, she wondered if anyone would ask about the yellow guitar pick necklace. It didn't match the rest of the outfit very well.

"Coming," she said about thirty seconds after being asked, and popped up from her seat to allow them to clip the transmitter to the back of her belt, running the lapel mic itself up the back of her jacket and clipping it to its collar. Then she went to stand offstage, hands on hips as she shifted her weight from foot to foot anxiously.

Already on stage was the woman Weiss wasn't so eager to meet. Neon Katt. She had already been interviewed, mainly speaking about her new album that was scheduled to be released in the month, but also about other little tidbits, like how she first broke into the music industry, and her humorous tales of stage fright and other faux pas. As usual, she dressed to make that ‘raver’ statement; tank top, mini skirt, orange hair with its thin rainbow streaks tied back into her two fluffy pony tails. She had even worn her signature cat tail attached to her belt, a feature she used in her music videos and concerts. 

What a little prima donna. Even in the few seconds Weiss could see of just her on her own, she was acting like she owned the place, sitting cross-legged with one arm stretched across the rest of the sofa where Weiss was about to sit, laughing away at one of Lavender's last comments. Did she have to be so…  _ much?! _

"And now, Ladies and Gentleman, back from her tour and just been confirmed for California Beach Fest; the one, the only, Weiss!"

That certainly cut through her irked thoughts. After a quick breath to steady her nerves, Weiss walked out onto the stage, smile in place, arm raised and waving to the studio audience. Her steps were steady, self-assured and in time with the music Lavender's band was playing - which was a big band rendition of one of her hits, as was their usual practice.

When she made it to the couch, she gestured at Neon's arm and said in a bemused voice, barely audible over the cheers of fanboys and fangirls, "This seat taken?"

"Hopefully by you." Though she did what Weiss intended, moving her arm and returning her hand to her lap instead. Still cross legged, still confident, she watched Weiss sit as the audience cheered, then glanced back at Linda Lavender, who was waiting for the audience to quiet down before she herself grinned toward the newer guests. 

"It's nice to see you remembered you were on a TV show rather than a rave!"

"Who, me? Or Neon?" Weiss joked with a slight laugh. "If I'd known Neon was tricked out this way, I wouldn't have gone for the 'White House Press Briefing' look! Now I feel so overdressed!"

"You could always get a little undressed later." Neon spoke calmly as the audience laughed, watching her with a sly smirk and half-closed eyes. A typical flirtatious look that everyone was used to, seeing as it was another signature for her music videos. She did it with everyone: men, women, or neither. But she was the type of character that everyone shrugged off such actions.

Even Lisa played along with it. "Down, girl. Honestly, she is uncontrollable!"

Of course, all Weiss did in reaction to such gross innuendo was roll her eyes and turn back toward the other chair. "It's nice to see you again, Lisa. Been a while - I was a nobody the last time we met!"

"I wouldn't say a nobody, but you were definitely not a shooting star the way you are now! So let's get right to it. I mean, the Beach Fest is amazing news, but Neon seemed to have covered everything about it." Neon nodded in response to her, but she continued her question, getting to the subject Weiss dreaded. "So; we were wondering, about the news of the month. This viral video."

"Right," Weiss sighed. Despite all of her mental preparation for this topic to come up, she still couldn't bring herself to even feign looking thrilled about discussing the song. But she managed to look only marginally weary of the topic rather than depressed. Professionalism in the face of adversity. 

"It was a little ditty one of my security staff dreamed up, and I came up with a few lyrics on the spot. Nothing major. I don't know why everyone made such a big deal about it - I mean, do you really like the song that much?"

Not even before she finished speaking, the audience began to cheer and clap enthusiastically. She'd been expecting that to some degree, so she laughed graciously and waved at them.

"If that's on the spot, then what can you come up with when you put your mind to it?" Lisa grinned just as enthusiastically as the audience. Once they quietened down, she continued with her questioning. "The audience response has been wild, maybe because obviously it was put on Tumblr first. And we all know that site likes to dissect anything it can to find a meaning. But a lot of people weren't expecting this kind of thing from you. If it's true, about it being about accepting yourself for who you are – up to and including being gay, what inspired you to write a song about that after being so… well, you know what I mean."

Deflecting slightly, she looked into the camera and said, "Actually, it was put up by my good friend, Ruby, who just happened to be there to capture the moment. Hi, Ruby!" Secretly, this was a tiny revenge for Ruby having posted the video without her consent, but mainly she wanted to give her new friend a small moment in the sun. At the very least, a little squeal when she heard her own name in the video later.

"Well, I'm sure  _ Ruby  _ didn't expect for it to get this big, either. She has good choice in friends." The host happily grinned, but straight back to the subject; she wasn't going to live it down that easily. "The  _ 'Cause I can't mold you, fold you' _ lyric was particularly interesting – and the Bowie-esque recurring theme about changes. I mean, a lot of people have let us know on Twitter that they really like it, that some kids relate to it in regards to coming out to their parents."

“ And that ’ s beautiful, ”  Weiss told her earnestly - having prepared for this, as well.  “ Perhaps I haven ’ t yet made my stance as clear as this little rainbow- ”  and she took that opportunity to take the hand that had found its way to her shoulder and move it back toward its owner, earning a smattering of laughter from the audience,  “ but I ’ ve always felt that people have to be who they are. Maybe in the past, I wouldn ’ t have included being LGBT under that umbrella, but I mean, it really only takes a few minutes of critical thought. Why would anyone  _ choose  _ to be gay in a society where coming out means getting kicked out of your parents ’  house, or hated by religious groups? Seen as  ‘ other ’ , threatened with violence? I say, live and let live. ”

The audience broke out into enthusiastic applause.  "Not bad, straight girl," Neon said. It wasn't visible to the cameras due to the way she was turned, but she winked at Weiss right after. She never made any further attempt at putting her hand back on Weiss's shoulder, or anywhere else.

"It's exciting to have more straight allies on their side, though!” Lisa went on. “I mean, celebrities like Neon who have been allies since the beginning are great, but it’s also really encouraging to see a star expand her worldview, and sort of  become more accepting .”

“Well, thank you,” she said modestly with a small smile.

“On top of that, this song seems to reach out to even more marginalised groups, as well, like transgenders. Did you hear that Laverne and Caitlyn have commented about that?"

This was the moment Weiss had prepared for the most: speaking on the subject of trans persons without tipping her hand, being too obvious that she had a personal stake in her own words. "Of course, Lisa, of course. Art is subjective; it's as much what people get out of it as what the artist puts in. As for trans people, they have it hard enough out there, so if my little song can help them feel a little better about themselves, more empowered or less alone, then that's great! Happy it could help in whatever way possible."

"Oh sorry, yeah, I meant trans people, not transgenders," Lisa quickly backpedaled after being corrected. It was obvious that it made her feel uncomfortable to be told by one of her own guests. Which was probably why she went on the attack: to cover. "So, you're confirming it is about coming out and being yourself while gay or trans, then? Are there any particular people who inspired this song at all?"

"That's not  _ exactly  _ what I said," Weiss laughed nervously. Hopefully the nervousness wouldn't bleed through to the audience; she was usually fairly good at masking her deeper emotions. "What I meant is, it's about being yourself no matter what that means - up to and including LGBT rights. But it could also mean going to university for an art degree when your parents want you to study business law. You can't try to please other people while making yourself miserable; that's no way to live. Be authentic, I guess is what I'm saying."

"Y'sure it's not about some kind of side-chick you have? Or maybe even a hot trans guy?" Neon asked, which prompted an 'Ooooo' response from the crowd, even few wolf whistles from the audience.

Smirking, she laughed and said, "You mean like Neptune? Wouldn't surprise me; he does have pretty soft features. No offense intended!" The audience joined in her laughter, and she silently prayed that was good enough for her to deftly avoid this third degree. Did Neon and Lisa plan this interrogation before the show together?

"I more meant the hot blondie on the guitar," Neon persisted. Yet again, it wasn't obvious to the camera, but she had glanced down at the guitar pick necklace. Given that it was yellow, which seemed to be the main color defining her guitar player in the video, and a pick; she seemed to have come up with her own theories already.

But Lisa was interested in this as well, for different reasons. "Actually who is that girl? She appeared out of nowhere!"

_ 'Damn it,' _ Weiss cursed inwardly. They were like dogs with bones. But she managed to keep her smile in place. "As I said, one of my security staff. She's currently on leave following the ending of my tour."

"Well, I think you and her need to get back in touch and finish that song, I'm sure the California Beach Fest will be wanting to hear the completed version!" 

She really was hounding at all the wrong subjects without realizing, especially since it was _impossible_ to get a hold it Yang in this time. And Neon was no better. "Hey, could you get her my number if you're not dating her, though? She's a real cutie, I wouldn't mind her _holding and molding me_ – know what I mean?"

Rolling her eyes exaggeratedly at the joke based on her lyrics, Weiss gestured vaguely to one side as she said, "I'll see what I can do. Not that I have your number to give, anyway." Then she glanced back at Lisa and added, "But yeah, hopefully. The track list for my new album is already locked down, but maybe it could be a straight-to-iTunes single?" The applause made her smile at the audience again.

"Hold on hold on, are we gonna ignore that you just asked for my number?" That made a lot more of the audience erupt with laughter. And when she leant in closer and closer to Weiss, as if she was about to either whisper something scandalous or kiss her on the cheek, she was interrupted by a flustered voice.

"And with that note, we'd better get to a break, but stay tuned! Up next, we're gonna talk about Beach Fest a bit more, and Neon is going to be performing her new single live!"

"Don't forget my new album, 'White Noise', is comi-" Then the lips did meet her cheek, and Weiss couldn't help but giggle as she pushed through to finish, "Coming out next month!"

"Right!" Lisa agreed, laughing but looking like she was just barely holding back panic. "And Neon's just came out last week and is already blowing up the charts! What a great time to be a pop fan! We'll be right back after this!"

Then the cameras panned back as the audience cheered, and as was the usual convention, Weiss turned to have a  quieter conversation with Lisa and Neon until they faded to commercial. However, what she immediately said to the self-proclaimed "pop-raver" was, "Must you be so…  _ familiar  _ with me? On camera, even!"

Lisa was too busy talking to a few of her agents in that time to notice the reprimand, as were any other members of staff or audience members. To them it looked like they were having a quiet conversation, even if Neon was deliberately leaning against the sofa to get closer to her. 

"Who said it's just for the camera, sweet cheeks?" she asked, giving another signature wink.

"Oh, please. Everybody knows you do that to anything with a pulse; it's all part of your image. You've never made a sincere pass at someone in your life."

That made the feline-esque woman laugh. Once again her arm had fallen to the back of the sofa, behind Weiss where she was sitting. How glad Weiss must be that the microphones were off at this moment. "And how would you know that? Unless you're just as much of a shameless flirt."

All at once, she found Neon's confidence in everything more grating than she had anything in quite some time. Probably egged on by her stubbornness in asking about Yang before. Leaning closer, wearing a smile purely for the cameras, she muttered, "You don't know a goddamn thing about me, Rainbow Vomit. That wouldn't bother me if you didn't act like you do. You want my number? Work for it. Not that I have any idea why you would. You’re just a shiny piece of plastic with nothing on the inside; nothing you’ve ever done has been genuine. So stop trying to drag me down with you." 

Then she stood from the couch, walked over to give Lisa a showy embrace, and waved to the cheering crowd as she began to head offstage. And Neon only continued to watch her as she walked off stage. Any other popstar or big artist would be glad of that fact, glad to see she had gone so more of the spotlight would be on them. But as Neon looked she appeared more… disappointed than anything. And before the commercial break was over, she had quickly nabbed one of the napkins from Lisa's table, and was noticeably doodling on it in her trademark rainbow autograph pen. For reasons the audience never found out.

While the stage featured more talking about Beach Fest and Neon's upcoming live performance, backstage was completely calm. No one had disturbed Weiss since she returned, and no one was about to either, not with a registered bodyguard at the door assigned by  the station management. At least she was kept safe.

But it wasn't the same without Yang.

All Weiss had done since getting in there was to remove her lavalier mic and toss it on the vanity, shuck her high heels, and flop down onto the couch, staring at the ceiling. Every day was a struggle to get through, and seeing the security personnel who weren't the one she wished they were served as a daily reminder of what she had lost. What took her a concentrated effort every single day to not sink down into depression over.

Yang didn't want her. That was the only conclusion she could reach; even though they had been close, maybe she had pushed too much for their relationship to move to the level where they could exchange those three little words more freely. She wished she had more information to work with - wished Yang would answer her phone, or tell Ruby more. So without any facts, all she could do was assume there was something about her that made Yang run for the hills.

"Your room's two down, hun."

"It's not my room I'm after."

Just in time to interrupt her moment of depression were two muffled voices outside her door. The show had clearly finished, judging by the time. But only just. So why on earth did one of those voices sound just like the other guest she had to put up with for ten minutes? Was it a relative of some kind come to visit and got the rooms muddled up? It couldn't be, her guard had quite clearly said 'your room', which meant it was a guest or staff. This required further investigation. And as she listened closer, their conversation continued.

"She specifically said she wanted to be alone."

"Calm your tits, big guy; I'm not asking to go in. I'm just asking if I can slide something under the door."

Slowly but surely, Weiss's already-sour mood began to curdle into annoyance. That was Neon; she'd bet on it with every dollar in her purse. Skulking around outside her door, hoping to goad her even more than she already had. Wasn't it enough for one day?

“And that’s it? Just that there?”

“Yeah, I promise.”  There was a sigh from the guard, along with the sound of him stepping to the side, followed by a giggle. "Thank you!"

And below Weiss's feet, poking beneath the door was a napkin, folded in half. But the side face up had a very simple instruction, along with a few rainbow kisses and hearts.

_ Open Me! _

Bolting upright, she crossed the room in a few quick strides and snatched the stupid napkin up, glaring at it. Her other hand raised to wad it up and destroy it, hoping it would give her catharsis… but she hesitated. Curiosity was getting the better of her. Even though she was sure no good would come from what she was about to read, she might as well open it before she tore it to shreds.

What she got was yet more rainbow kisses over the paper, along with a small stick figure in the bottom left, that was clearly blowing a kiss to whomever was reading it. If she wanted to annoy, why not put that to the front instead? The contents explained why.

_You're right, I don't know much about you. But I want to learn. Did you ever stop to think neither of us knows each other very well?  
Maybe you won't give me your number, but that won't stop me giving you mine. Call me!  
Love from ~ Rainbow Vomit_

Below that was a cellphone number. Neon's cellphone number. Suddenly, Weiss found she was even more frustrated… but also felt oddly wrong-footed and off-balance. She couldn't fully believe that a girl so flippant and ridiculous as that was earnestly courting her company, but this note made it a lot harder to completely dismiss her.

Taking her phone out of her nearby purse, she stuck the number into her contacts. Then she sent a single text:

_ If you remember to call me 3 days from now, I might pick up. _ _ Do not contact me before then. _

That was it. The proof of Neon's intentions would be in whether or not she could actually remember to do such a minor task; if she didn't, clearly this had been a stupid diversion. If she did…

Well, she would cross that bridge when she came to it.

* * *

 

_ I know you've probably heard this so much, but thank you thank you thank you for that song. If not for that, I probably couldn't have come out to my mom. Whether you're gay, bi or anything yourself (and you don't have to tell me) I just had to let you know the strength you gave me. Thank you again. ~ Nadir Shiko _

It was one of several hundred letters, all the same. Since the viral video hit, Weiss's PO box had been flooded with fan mail. She had been showered with more gifts and praise than ever before, and so many heartfelt stories about people coming out and expressing themselves, just as intended by the song. The one she had just finished came from a trans man somewhere in Florida, and had attached to it a bar of chocolate.

Three days had passed since that interview, and no further contact was made. Not from either of the open ends it seemed. Nothing from Yang, nothing from Neon. There was the odd call from Ruby, asking about silly things like how her day went and if she could help with her studies, but that was it. Weiss was back to her own thoughts.

By this point, she had become desperate enough to call up Neptune and ask him if he wanted to get lunch. Just as friends, of course; she had zero interest in him romantically anymore. But alas, he was currently playing some tour dates in Canada and wouldn't be back in the States until August – for their big shared concert extravaganza.

Sighing, Weiss tossed the last letter on the tabletop and paced into her kitchenette to pour herself some white grape juice. At this juncture, she couldn't even be sure she really wanted to drink it; she just wanted something to do. Anything that would distract her from thinking about Yang again was more than welcome. She had finally managed to go through an entire conversation with Ruby without bringing her up, but that had only come about by intentionally suppressing a few questions that drifted through her mind. She began to wonder if she would ever be able to forget about the stunning blonde.

A distraction finally came. And it came from the far end of the room, resting on the arm of the sofa. Her phone vibrating and ringing loudly. Weiss had made sure to set it that way, on the off-chance Yang would call, so she could run and get it. But when Weiss ran to see who it was this time, there were two words on the screen. "Glowstick Dipstick"

For a brief instant, Weiss was confused at what the words meant - until she finally remembered that was the charming term she had chosen for Neon when adding her to her contacts. A powerful urge to ignore the call was there, mostly because she was upset that it wasn't Yang… but her own curiosity was more powerful still, so she thumbed the answer button.

"Hello?"

"Okay, so I couldn't wait for the  _ whole _ three days," the hyper voice spoke. It was definitely Neon on the other line, from her voice, and from the obvious rave music playing faintly in the background. "But I wasn't exactly going to call at like, ten PM. I'd rather be sober and awake to talk to you, you know?

"Bravo," Weiss said, seating herself primly on her couch and crossing her legs as she balanced the cup of juice on her knee. "You actually remembered. And no, I suppose you didn't need to call  _ exactly  _ seventy-two hours later."

"Hey, you're the one that gave the instructions!" It seemed Neon was also settling in for a converrsation, considering the music got a lot quieter as she turned it down. There was then a soft sigh as though she had just sat down. "But yeah, about that 'no pass is genuine' thing?"

"The what? Oh - you mean me calling you out on flirting with all of North America?" She shrugged easily. "What about it?"

She genuinely giggled down the phone, sighing contently. "Okay so, maybe I do flirt a lot with  _ everyone. _ But real talk here? It was a dumb compromise with my agent, I either had that or don't flirt at all, and I like to flirt."

That sent Weiss's eyebrows spiking upward. "You're contractually  _ obligated  _ to flirt on camera? That's… the most ridiculous lie I've ever heard. You're going to have to do way better." But against her will, she was relaxing into the flow of conversation. Regardless of her motives or how genuine her flirting was, she had taken the time to remember to call her on the third day, as requested. It leant her a tiny shred of credibility, at least.

"Ehh, kiiiinda sorta, but I gotta know a few things about you first before I get into telling you all the details." Neon was smiling. Genuinely smiling at the progress of their conversation, happily sitting cross legged and relaxed, as if she was talking to an old friend. But she really wasn't, this was someone she barely knew outside the profession. Which she wanted to change. "So how about… a game? I ask a question you  _ have _ to answer honestly - then you ask, then I ask again, blahblahblahblahblah…"

"You're serious? You want to play Truth Or Dare without the Dare part, right out of the blue?" No answer; only waiting for her answer. After debating for a few more seconds, she said, "Fine. But if I refuse to answer a question, you don't shame me for it or make a big deal out of it, since the game was your idea. That acceptable?"

"Does that count as your first question?" Neon asked back teasingly. But before she could reply... "No problem, fine by me."

"Alright, that’s cool. Just don’t lie; either tell me the truth or pass." It didn't take long for her to come up with an initial query. "What percentage of your flirting IS genuine?"

"Hmm…" She tilted her head, looking up at the ceiling. "About… twenty percent? No wait, twenty-five. I am genuinely thirsty. But the rest is for funzies."

"Wow, that is… a lot higher than I expected, given how many people you flirt with!" Suddenly, the consequence of her asking the question occurred to her, and she curled her lip… but it  _ was  _ only fair. "Fine, now ask yours."

There was giggling before that question came. There was one in particular she wanted to ask, but expected rushing straight into it would just mean causing unnecessary annoyance. So she went for another angle instead. "Did you keep my note?"

"You know, I did," Weiss said with a slight smirk. "I wanted to make sure I had your exact wording on hand if you tried to pretend you didn't mean something you said."

"Wow, you're prepared. I half expected you to tear it apart on sight, to be honest."

"I was tempted." The first question had been the easiest, and now she was having more difficulty coming up with more. "Why did you do the thing with the napkin instead of just… asking for my number?"

That one was an instant answer. "Was the only way I could think to show you I meant it. If I did it in the flesh, you'd think I'm still just playing around, since you really don’t take me seriously. Plus, I like to be the one to take the first step; get that friendship cred or whatever."

"Fine, I guess that kind of worked, but why did-" Biting off the words, she sighed and said, "Sorry, that was my turn, wasn't it? Go on."

"Alright." She thought about that again. Still not time to ask that question yet, time to do another instead. One that she thought would be innocent enough. "What's with the guitar pick?"

That was one that brought Weiss up short. She wanted to answer it with a complete lie, but after demanding Neon answer truthfully, she somehow couldn't bring herself to do that. But maybe she could play her off. "So what? It's a guitar pick, who cares?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "It clashed with your outfit, figured it must mean something."

"Pass," she sighed. It frustrated her that she had to admit she didn't want to answer the question, but at least it was an option that was open to her. "Alright - do you actually go to raves, or is it an image thing only?"

So there  _ was _ meaning to the necklace, just one that Neon wasn't going to hear. But, as she promised, she fully respected that, and went straight on to the next question. "Before I was big, hell yeah. But once I was making a name for myself, the riskier that became. I stopped after a near miss; a guy spiked my drink and I don't remember what happened for hours after."

"Oh wow," Weiss breathed, a hand going to her mouth. "God… did you have a rape kit done? I mean, no judgment if you didn't, but…"

"That was a question, buuuuut I'll let you have that one because you actually seem worried about lil ol ’  me." She trailed off in a higher pitched voice there, but then went straight back to normal. "No, I was safe anyway. My rave friend, Flynt, took me back to his place, made the couch up for me to sleep it off, and kept me safe until I woke up. He's a pretty great dude, looks after me. But fuck, it was scary."

Blinking, she forced herself to take a step back from the situation. Hearing about that near-tragedy had drawn her in more than she intended to let happen. "Scary, but maybe it was necessary if it helped you figure out you needed to stop being a druggie."

"Hey, I didn’t even get high that night! Well, like I said, not on purpose," she laughed. It was a scary subject, but one she was able to talk about easily. Others probably would be unable to. "Okay, my turn anyway… Um…" Now it was seeming like they were getting genuinely closer. Perhaps now she could risk one of the questions. But she had to play it cool.

"What would you say, if I told you that you were in that twenty-five percent?"

"What?" Then she laughed, rolling her eyes. Not taking that seriously; it was clearly just meant to fluster her. "I'd be flattered, I suppose… but would also say maybe the drugs haven't worn off yet. But that's cute, very cute." Then she took a sip of her juice before saying, "If that's how you wanted to waste a question, it's my turn, now."

"Wasn't wasted." She smirked, relaxing all the more into her chair. "Fire away."

Again, she took a moment to hum to herself as she thought. Her mind went back to the question she had almost asked as an "illegal" follow-up before. "Okay… why  _ did _ you want to talk to me so badly that you did the whole crazy napkin-note thing?"

"That wasn't answered with my last question?" Seemed they were both tiptoeing around this one… "Let me repeat it: you were in the twenty-five percent. Doesn’t that cover it?"

"Yeah, but that was… a…" Weiss sat up a little straighter, her eyebrows knitting. "You were kidding. You always flirt with people, make jokes, so… what's different this time? Why me?"

"Nuh-uh, you had yours," Neon stopped her. But from the sounds of her change in voice, she was getting it. Which lead to her next question… "Is that song about your experiences?"

"What song?" The question was instinctive, trying to protect herself. They both knew it was futile.

"You know exactly what one."

There was no real way out of this one. Either she passed again, and looked like a coward for doing that twice in a single game of twenty questions before they even hit ten, or she outed herself to this random glowstick she barely knew.

"It is. You don't think I've been through changes in my life? Of course it's about me. All of my songs are written by me, and about my experiences."

It seemed a satisfying enough answer. "We all have our own shit doing what we do. Everyone thinks we have these perfect lives, when really it's just a different set of problems. I feel you." And then after a brief pause, she asked, "And your question?"

But Weiss didn't know what to ask anymore. Neon had not only seen right through her pretense that she was only writing the song out of empathy, but she was also apparently on the short list of people Neon was actually interested in. What was she supposed to say to that? Either she disregarded all of it, or…

Or she explored it further. Against her will, she found herself intrigued; this was the first moment she found herself fascinated by anything in weeks, besides her own bubble of misery. So Neon claimed she was interested in her, did she? There was only one way to find out for sure.

"Alright," she said, probably a solid minute later. "Here's a question. Hypothetically, let's  _ say  _ I agreed to go somewhere with you. Not as a 'date', exactly, but something like one. What would that night include?"

"Not as a date? Bummer…" She said that quite clearly this time, genuinely meaning it. There wasn't any cameras to fake it for, nor any reason for her to say otherwise. This was a new side to Neon, one that cared more about the other person rather than herself. In a huge contrast to her songs. But still, she answered her question.

"Hmm… A night with me… Well, you seem more like someone who wants to relax rather than go to a club, so that one's out, sadly. I'd probably find a nice quiet bar we could both head to that nobody knows, just so we're not stressing about being seen. A bite to eat, maybe a cocktail or two… head back and watch some Netflix. Whatever."

The line about going to a club sounded a lot more like Neon than all the plans she laid out afterward. "Really? That… doesn't sound too horrible. Where do you know of a bar like that?"

She shrugged again, even if Weiss couldn't see it. "I dunno, I'll look around. Nashville's gotta have something, right?" And then there was a very tiny pause. "Wait a minute, that's two questions, ya cheat."

"Sorry, I forgot," Weiss sighed genuinely. Plotting a possible evening out with someone she had despised a few scant days ago was quite the distraction. "Go ahead, ask away; we can figure the details of that out later, I suppose."

"Okay… Now this is kind of the  ‘ make or break ’  one…" She swallowed this time, mentally preparing for what she was about to do. She was either going to get a positive response, or put her foot in it.

_ "Would _ you like to try making it a date?"

Suddenly, there was the dull _thunk_ of a plastic cup hitting the floor and a splashing sound. None from Weiss's actual voice, however; that remained silent. And Neon just closed her eyes tightly, biting her lip as she waited for her response. Anything.

"I… I guess?" Then she cleared her throat and hastily followed up, "W-wait, I said  _ not  _ a date! J-just going out! Do we have to call it that?!"

Finally, Neon was just starting to giggle. The fact she hadn't instantly yelled out in disgust said that she wasn't appalled by the idea, which meant she wasn't appalled by  _ her,  _ either. In fact, it had more or less confirmed her suspicions. Almost. "That counts as a question! And  _ yes, _ you dork; I wanna take you on a date, okay?"

There was a loud groan of pure frustration from Weiss, then a few desperate breaths intended to calm her down. "Fine! Fine, it's… it's a 'date' if it has to be. But you better treat me well or it will be our  _ last  _ date, you understand?!"

Beyond what Weiss could see, Neon was throwing her spare fist into the air and flailing her legs with glee, having to stop herself from squealing out loudly. Her gut feeling was true! And it had led to more! But when she returned the phone to her cheek, she answered calmly, "Great! And don’t worry, I'll treat you like a princess, of course."

That made the silver-haired diva's cheeks glow slightly, but she ignored that for the moment. "W-well… that's good. I'm glad we settled that." Even though her head was still spinning from the mere fact that she was willingly going to spend a potentially-romantic evening with her sworn rival, she somehow managed to stammer, "Wh-whose turn is it now?"

"Um… me, to ask the question. You asked if we had to call it a date."

"Okay, okay, go on."

Now that she had stopped her blatant happy flailing, she was smiling contentedly as she leant back on the sofa again. Gradually, the confidence was starting to come back, and that was obvious by the next question: "What are you wearing?"

"UHT!" Again, a sound of pure shock and surprise. "Y-you can't ask that, it's against the rules!" she tried, knowing it would be futile.

"How the hell is that against the rules?!" she laughed loudly, secretly enjoying every moment Weiss was squirming and trying to get out of answering her rather invasive questions. That brash attitude would get her in trouble one day, but for now …  it got her a date. A date with Weiss.

"Fine. I'm wearing a poncho and old sweats and haven't changed clothes in a week," she lied, just to see what Neon would do.

"Wow, not what I expected from you! And here I am, just sitting in my nice matching set of glow in the dark underwear."

The conversation continued in a similar fashion. Neon would try to fluster Weiss, while Weiss gave as little information as she possibly could, and got flustered in the process. All of this though, was progress. It was helping to distract her from the blonde who wouldn't contact home; the leftover feelings that still popped up on occasion. Maybe it was a huge step in the right direction, of accepting herself and moving on.

Or maybe it was just a rebound. A rebound with Rainbow Vomit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I'm sorry if this chapter (like the Bumbleby chapters) leaves a bad taste in the mouths of more religious Freezerburn shippers, but we really liked this idea. Weiss has always been curious about dating someone in the business she's in - she just had her sights set on a different pop star before this moment. Next chapter is more of this scene!


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Weiss/Neon. Underage drinking.

**=Chapter 26**

The establishment was not quite what Weiss expected when Neon had said "bar". In fact, it was more like an English pub; a cozy restaurant that also happened to have a full bar inside. They professed to have fantastic burgers and real “chips”, plus a sizzling steak tips platter that was highly recommended.

Weiss had looked it up on Yelp on the cab ride over. She wasn't about to walk blindly into some sleazy pool hall where old men would be glowering at her from every corner without at least doing that much research.

Once inside, she saw a sign saying "Seat Your Seat Yourself," which made her snort against her will. Glancing at the chalkboard telling her the day's specials - a Caesar salad and Baked Alaska, apparently, along with a few types of beer she knew nothing about - her eyes slid past the crowded bar to the less-crowded booths along the wall. It didn't take her long to spot the red-orange twin tails sticking out on either side of her "date's" head.

Thankfully, no other telltale signs it was her until she got there. She hadn't worn the tail, or nearly as much make up and brash clothing as usual. A simple tank top and shorts would do, something to look casual, but give her enough flare compared to everyone else. As she turned to look across the bar again, she spotted her date looking unusually lost, and grinned happily, holding a hand up to wave her in that direction without drawing unnecessary attention from the other patrons. The first step was down; she'd actually come to the date rather than left it on false hope.

Of course, when Weiss arrived at the table, it became clear she had dressed to avoid easy recognition, the same way Neon had. Hair done up in a bun and stuffed under a cute red cloche hat besides, and a little black dress that fell to her knees with a black purse. Not at all her usual color scheme, which certainly helped to throw anyone looking off the scent - even though her icy blue eyes would do a lot to tip anyone off if they cared to look close.

"Charming," she remarked as she slid into the opposite bench. "At least there were no hobos out front asking for change."

"Oh there's not? Awh, my old friend must have found a new spot." Neon giggled, watching as Weiss sat down opposite her and was already picking up a menu. But all the while, her eyes never truly left her, nor could she stop the giddy looking grin she had. Two whole minutes of silence later, she giggled again. "Sorry, just… I can't believe you actually came!"

"Yep, this is me, being here." Her eyes flicked to the bar, waiting to see if any wait staff were on their way yet. "What are you thinking about having?"

Neon shrugged her shoulders. "The scampi is always great here. I've been here a couple of times; they have a lot of ‘pub grub’ and some other nicer shit. Was the best place I could think of to not get spotted while having decent conversation. But what do you want? I'm buying."

Weiss blinked at the insistence. "Oh? Well… I suppose this was your idea, so thank you." She looked at the menu one last time before deciding, "How about a Caesar salad and some of this garlic bread? We can split the latter."

"Hmm, Garlic bread and scampi, that could be bomb." She smiled with delight, folding her menu and putting it down on the table, rising from her seat. "So shall I get it? Oh, what's your poison?"

"Poison?" Then she smiled a bemused smile. "Thought you did your research before asking me out; I'm not even twenty yet."

But Neon just snorted, waving a hand a she laughed rather loudly for a moment, leaning forward to suppress it. "And you think that means anything? Come on, I'm getting it for you, why do you think I said I'll buy?"

Both of Weiss's cheeks filled with rouge. The last time she had touched an alcoholic beverage was at a wedding she'd attended with her family, where she'd taken a couple sips of champagne. It had made her very slightly dizzy but otherwise hadn't seemed so bad. But a whole drink to herself? And wasn't getting it in the first place technically illegal? However…

The whole point of tonight was to take her mind off Yang. No better way than alcohol, reportedly. "Well… m-maybe a strawberry daiquiri? If you're sure you don't mind…"

"Coming right up." The carefree girl winked as she walked to the bar, making a slight effort to sway her hips on the small chance Weiss was watching. As expected, Neon seemed very carefree and gleeful. All familiar personality traits to what she was used to before with Yang. _Almost_ exactly like her. The only difference was that Neon was extremely reckless. She was willfully breaking the law to buy Weiss a drink, and on their first date, too! If she was willing to do that in the beginning, what would it be like down the line?

Even so, Weiss still couldn't help but watch her hips swaying, and even more so when she was leaning forward against the bar, shifting them back and forth like an overgrown cat ready to pounce. When she realized she was staring openly, she forced her eyes back down to the menu, trying to make herself read through the dessert options…

Instead of thinking about having Neon for dessert. She was honestly ashamed of how quickly her mind had gone there, but she was also distantly aware that it was the older girl's intention to tease her, plant those thoughts early on. She was regretting the decision to try drinking for the first time on the first date; too many firsts at once. There was no way to back down now without looking like a child, though - she already looked like one for ordering what was arguably the fruitiest beverage she could have.

Or did she? That was debatable, considering Neon was on her way back with two identical glasses of dark pink froth. At least it showed she was more interested in Weiss's company than getting drunk. Sitting herself back down, she passed over one of the drinks to Weiss's side the table, and then held up her own.

"Well, here's to… being in the closet still, I guess?"

Rolling her eyes, she clinked her glass against Neon's and took a sip. The sharp sting of alcohol was definitely present, but it was very cleverly disguised behind the tart of strawberry and the pure sugariness in general. Setting it down and feeling satisfied with her choice, she looked back up at her companion.

"Didn't expect you to have the same thing; I figured you'd be ordering a tray of shots or something, Party Girl."

Finishing up her sip, which was slightly bigger then Weiss's, she raised her eyebrows in recognition, placing it straight down. "Three minutes in? No way. Like I said, I want to get to know you! Can’t do that passed out in a puddle of drool!"

"Right, I'm your newest project," Weiss snorted, propping her elbows on the table and lacing her fingers together, using them to support her chin. After a few seconds, she followed up with, "So the rumors are that you're bisexual, straight and just putting on a rainbow hat for the cameras, or a huge slut who doesn't care who she sleeps with. Not saying I believe any of those, but… you _implied_ that we're both in the closet, so I'm curious what the truth is."

"Totally fair. I half expected that to come up in our little game on the phone." She shuffled in her seat so she could rest one of her hands on the table, tapping it with one of her fingers rhythmically. It was a slightly more nervous subject for Neon, even with her reputation. "That condition I told you about? The whole flirt with everyone or flirt with no one rule? It was actually because when I was first starting out, I was only flirting with the girls." She pointed at the sleeve on her arm. "Hence the rainbow tats. But they _really_ didn’t like that plan, since me not being interested in guys would turn off half my audience, according to them. So, y’know… sometimes we gotta take our lumps in this business."

For some reason, that made Weiss's cheeks glow a little brighter. Maybe it was the alcohol, but she probably couldn't blame it on that after only one sip. "I see. Totally gay, then… got it." Which was the real reason she was blushing, of course. Neon only dated women… and had asked _her_ out. Speaking of which, she took another huge gulp to give her hands and mouth something to do. The tartness tingled on her tongue, and she shivered from how cold it was when it slid down into her stomach.

Maybe that wasn't the best option, not when Neon was circling the top of her glass with an idle finger, looking over with half-closed eyes. "What about you? Gay? Bi? Pan?"

"Gay." Then she blinked after hearing it come out of her own lips; it slipped out without conscious thought. "Wow, I… wow. I've never thought about it before, or said that about myself. Maybe bi, but then again, I've only ever _looked_ at guys. When I'm with one, I just don't… feel comfortable with them, don't want to go past friendship or ogling. Neptune would have given his right kidney to get me back to his tour bus, and I had no desire to even give him more than a handshake."

"Yep, that sounds pretty gay to me," she giggled, taking an extra sip of her drink as well rather than toying with it more and more. "I pretty much knew I was gay since high school. I guess you could say, 'I kissed a girl, and I liked it'?”

"Yeah," Weiss laughed, still a little bashful but warming up to their conversation. Against her will, she had to admit that it was a huge relief to have someone to talk about this with besides Ruby. "Girls are just… like… I used to really like checking out guys on the beach, you know? But didn’t care past looking, and now they're just boring to me. I don't know."

"They're very _flat_ , I tend to find." She found herself staring outward toward one of the pool tables, sighing to herself. "Girls though… You got different hips and curves, boobs and butts… Guys you can sort into like, three types: jocks, nerds, and complete losers. But girls, you can find so many. All of them are different. How can you ever get bored?"

Nodding, Weiss took another long draught. She was beginning to feel a little light-headed and warm, which told her this should definitely be her only drink of the evening; she had proven her point, that she was not a stick-in-the-mud. The drink was helping her relax into conversation. Nothing further was necessary.

"You’re right. And to be honest with you, I never really thought about how you looked before now. I mean, you were just that annoying singer who wouldn't stop winking at everybody, including me." Her hand shot up to cover her mouth. "Oh - I mean, you _were_ annoying to me before! Not that I didn't like you, just… without realizing _why_ you were always flirting, it was a little irritating and tiresome to me. Makes you come across as shallow, I guess?"

Neon’s smile was about the same as before, but it seemed to reach her eyes a little less. "Hey, don't worry about it. In a way, I'm a different character when I'm on stage from how I am off the camera. I'm just so glad you gave me a chance." She looked back toward Weiss again, drawing her hand back when she noticed it had been instinctively moving closer towards her. Instead, she was about to take another sip… until she stopped herself. "I have a feeling that was going somewhere, though? Like, you think I'm cute?"

Immediately, Weiss's head ducked. She had been hopeful for a moment that Neon would have missed that detail. "Well… yeah, you are, but you knew that." At the expectant look she got in return, she pushed a hand into her face. "You really want to make me say this, don't you?"

After finishing the sip again, she grinned happily, giving her another cheeky wink. "Of course. I gotta admit, there's a slight… pleasure in knowing this high-and-mighty Christian singer is actually as gay as one of my tats."

"FINE! Fine, you're really hot, okay?" Divulging any of this was pure torture, but also such a thrill that she couldn't stop there, couldn't resist chasing more of that feeling, feeding into Neon's greedy grin. "Even without all those crazy tats and glitter and glowstick bullshit, you're really cute and your green eyes are hypnotic, and that ass doesn't quit! Is that what you wanted to hear?!"

Instead, Neon was the one to copy Weiss's first pose, resting her head in her hands as she looked back at her date with half closed eyes, blinking them repeatedly to flutter her eyelashes. "You're goddamn right that's what I wanted."

Slamming her head down on the table and covering her hat with both hands, the poor newly-outed girl whispered, "I can't believe this is happening…"

"Well for the record, you're pretty adorable yourself. Just so you don’t think this is some kinda one-way street."

“Hmph.”

“You’re really beautiful,” she tried again with a more sober tone. When Weiss gulped, she laughed and nudged her leg under the table. “And cute when you blush! God, cut it out, I can’t stand it!”

* * *

 

The evening settled into comfortable conversation. Their food came, they both ate with no complaints, apart from the one wilted leaf of lettuce in Weiss's salad. But other than that, they talked and talked into the night. About their careers, about a few highlight moments of Neon's tour, even about the few songs in the two's upcoming albums.

Eventually left with two empty plates and two empty glasses at their table, Neon was circling the top of her glass with her finger again. They'd talked about her tour already, now it was Weiss's turn. "So, your tour's just done, right? Anything wild happen?"

"Maybe," Weiss hedged as she nursed the water she had ordered after finishing her own drink. She still didn't want to talk about Yang, of course; there might never come a day when the topic wasn't sensitive for her. "I mean, I met Neptune and that was cool. And I'm sure you heard about the stalker."

"Which one? The knife-wielding guy or the one in your bus? Well, both are pretty insane stories." She tilted her head, staring out toward her again. "No parties? No… testing the bus suspension?"

Scowling, she sighed, "I did say 'maybe', didn't I? Clean out your ears." Picking up the menu and brandishing it like a sword, she said, "What about you? How many hotel rooms did you 'christen' on your last tour, hmmm?"

This was something Neon was a lot more open about, even if she wasn't with her sexuality. She leant back in her chair and rested her hands behind her head. "Oh you bet. If you go to the club after, you can find a million groupies. Quite a few cute chicks got the disco stick treatment, if you know what I mean."

"I do, unfortunately." Squirming in her seat, Weiss took a few seconds to build up her confidence before she continued. "Listen… I might be closeted, but even besides that… I don't really sleep around a lot, okay? So if you're only interested in finding somewhere for your 'disco stick' to go next, then you might end up pretty disappointed with me. Just… just warning you now."

Most men would have run a mile when hearing that, or just responded with more confidence, thinking they could wear her down. Even quite a few women would have as well. They might have called her a prude, or a tease.

But Neon? The party hard raver girl who went out after her shows for the sole purpose of doing those things? She did something Weiss wouldn't have expected. She shrugged her shoulders, and sat upright again to give Weiss her full attention.

"What makes you think I asked you on a date _just_ to sleep with you?"

"Didn't you? I mean the way you were looking at me on Lisa's show…" One of her shoulders went up and down. "And not to sound vain, but I know I'm attractive. Sometimes I don't truly believe it, but enough other people have said it that denying the fact would be pretty stupid and a waste of our time. So if you did only ask me out because you like my body, that would make sense. Right?"

"Yeah, it makes perfect sense. Again, that's the problem with my rep." She shrugged her shoulders, though she was still smiling. "I mean, the attitude's great for getting a quick lay or if I'm looking for someone with my particular… _tastes_ to have fun with. But for finding a genuine date with a true diva who I’ve got mad respect for? Kind of a handicap."

They turned out to be the magic words. Again, Weiss's cheeks turned slightly pink and her small smile betrayed her feelings just as much. "So… you really were just interested in me all around?"

"You're really sweet! And cool! And one of a few in this industry I've actually guessed correctly as being queer. And on top of that, one of the few who's in my twenty five percent." By now she was blushing herself, the alcohol starting to take its effect as she opened up. "So why rush it on a stupid fling when I can possibly get a good friend or a cute girlfriend outta it?"

For a few seconds, Weiss was grinning from ear to ear. Then the smile fell very slowly, like a rose's petals drifting to the ground. _Girlfriend_. That word still belonged to someone else in her recent past, and she couldn't shake that; her heart still didn't want to do any such thing. The idea of dating anyone seriously was not appealing to her yet, even though she missed the closeness. She wasn't ready.

However, Neon was earnest, and sweet in her own brash, hyper way. Maybe she owed it to herself to see where this went. And if she didn’t now, then the chance might be gone in the future.

Having noticed the smile disappearing, Neon could tell something was wrong. Not what, but there was something. And so instead of going into it and asking, she drew her hands back, and started to sit upright, shouldering her bag. "Well, I don't know about you, but I think I'm ready to call it a night. You want me to call a cab?"

"Huh?" Eyelashes fluttering as she came back to the present, Weiss noticed Neon was planning to leave. That easily, she had ruined everything. "Oh…. I, um… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to keep you out so late. A cab would be… good."

"Alrighty. You wanna split it with me or nah?" She put the strap of her handbag over her shoulder, standing up by the side of the table. But right away, she held out her hand to her. "Because it’s not that I want the night to end or anything."

"You don’t? Really?" Taking the hand, she allowed herself to be helped up, smiling awkwardly. "Kinda thought for a moment there I brought down the evening and you just wanted to get out of here as soon as possible."

But Neon kept a tight hold on her hand, started to pace them towards the door. Slowly, leisurely. "Nah, I just figured you were starting to get tired yourself. Happens to everybody."

Almost imperceptibly, there was a tiny shift in Weiss's heart. Neon stopped being a pretty face with a somewhat-irritating personality, and someone she was only distantly curious about. Now she was a beautiful woman, genuinely interested in her body _and_ mind, who wanted to prolong their evening if possible.

"You know," she began as they got outside, "we don't have to end the evening here. Maybe… we could go somewhere for dessert?"

Neon had been about to take her phone out to dial a cab, but stopped last minute. "What'cha got in mind?"

* * *

 

Nearly two hours later, they were in a different cab and heading back to Neon's place, stomachs full of McFlurry. Neon had laughed when she said that was what she wanted for dessert, but when Weiss threatened to walk clear off she hastily told her it was amusing, but she would love to share a heaping cup of inexpensive frozen dairy with her. So they had gone and sat inside the dayglow restaurant and chatted about small things while using two spoons on the same cup: a vaguely suggestive activity, one that was edging them past Weiss's initial reluctance to call their night a "real date".

"…and then they wanted me to dress up in a hot dog costume and… TWERK!" Weiss was laughing as the car rounded the corner. "I've never turned down an ad campaign so fast in my life!"

"Holy shit, that’s amazeballs!" Neon was laughing just as loudly, clearly not giving a damn if the taxi driver was getting annoyed at them or not. If he was truly listening, he would have easily twigged on that he was taking two rather well-known stars in the back of his cab anyway. Still, she was sat rather close to Weiss, hand in hers, listening to the ridiculous story. "That's one I guess I would do if I'd had enough to drink. I can pull off a decent twerk, I guess."

"Obviously. With that butt? Do you know what I'd pay to have that butt?" Then she waved her free hand. "That's a lie, I'm sorry; I wish I had it already, but I’m not getting any plastic surgery. So small-butted, I shall remain."

"Well, you can have _this_ butt whenever you'd like…" She had shuffled closer in the seat to Weiss, deliberately bumping it against her side to make sure she knew exactly what she meant.

"You're so immature," she snorted back at her, pushing against her upper arm. "And gross! Immature and gross, that's you!"

But she was smiling and laughing, and not scooting away in the slightest. And Neon only laughed straight back at her, giggling in unison. It was only when their laughter was slowing to a contented happy sigh that she took the time to notice something. They were yet to disconnect their hands, and were now very close. Much too close for casual acquaintances. This evening couldn't be considered 'anything but a date' as Weiss suggested. Not anymore.

It was a natural reaction for her to eventually lean against Weiss, tilting her head to lean against her. "I've had a really great night."

"Me too." Of course, Weiss's posture became a little stiffer when she felt Neon's head so close to hers, a soft cheek against her nearly-bare shoulder… but she tried not to make a big deal of her observation. This wasn't a surprise in the slightest; she had made her intentions explicitly clear back in the bar.

Still, this was not an activity that she was used to in the slightest. Even in her time with Yang, she had never done any such thing in public; it was always behind closed doors. Maybe there was only one other witness, but that was well outside her comfort zone already!

"So… You want to do this again, right? Actually admitting it was a date this time?" Neon asked, not moving from her position by her shoulder one bit. In fact, if anything she nuzzled herself into it that bit more. Neon didn’t think there was any reason to hold back. So she had no problem with picking up the hand she held and planting a kiss on it.

A little "oh!" burst from Weiss before she could stop it when she felt the lips on her hand. They were so soft… and the gesture so kind, not nearly as suggestive or raunchy as most of the "moves" she had been dreading Neon would attempt. She found herself gaping down toward Neon's sweet, drowsy features, unsure of what to say or do.

“Well?” Leaning back up again, she found her own green eyes meeting the icy blue ones. They sat a moment in silence again. No answer to Neon's question, but nothing to say against it. All she could do was stare and wait, for whatever Weiss wanted. Be the answer through words or actions.

As it turned out, she would choose an action; a simple returning of the one Neon had given her. Raising Neon's hand up to her mouth, she placed a gentle kiss on her knuckles, then another on the nearest fingertip she could reach, eyes flicking back to Neon's eyes a few times. Maybe she was going too far, maybe she would spook her… or spook herself.

She absolutely wouldn't spook Neon. Not when she was only watching the actions like a hawk. Occasionally, her eyes darted to other places of Weiss's body. Particularly her lips. Placing her spare hand on Weiss's cheek, the moment seemed just right. She closed the gap between them. Those soft lips that met Weiss's knuckles met her lips instead, hanging for a moment in time. For however long Weiss wanted to make it.

There was a sound like a strangled grunt from the diva in the red hat - and then she was relaxing against the contact, seemingly too surprised to do anything else. Neon's kiss was sudden, but genuine, and she needed it with a fierceness she couldn't understand. Their hands gripped each other hard as Weiss's other came up to rest on the one at her cheek, relishing its touch as much as the pliable lips on hers, drinking in the experience like someone lost in the desert finding an oasis.

Neon was totally shocked. Weiss wasn’t slapping her or shoving her out of the cab? She parted her lips, kneading back against Weiss's in a soft and gentle fashion, despite the need Weiss was fuelling deep inside her.

Around the time Weiss felt her tongue come into contact with another, they went over a slight bump - and the poor, confused, startled girl was suddenly flinging herself as far away from Neon as she could, eyes wide as dinner plates and panting hard. Her body couldn't be crammed any harder into the corner if she tried - and indeed, she was still trying to scramble backward.

"You… you _kissed_ me." After she said it aloud, she heard how completely ludicrous of a reason that was to break such a tender moment. Pressing her hands into her face in an attempt to hide, she groaned, "God… I'm such a spaz. I told you I don't go out a lot, didn't I? So I'm not used to…"

"H-Hey, it's okay," Neon reassured her, reaching forward with her hand slowly. She waited again for Weiss to reciprocate before going any further, not wanting to scare her off. "You're fine, right? I won't do it again if you don't want to. Totally your call."

A few more seconds passed before one of Weiss's hands shifted to allow her to look between her fingers. When she saw Neon patiently waiting, one hand out and gazing at her calmly – ready to wait however long it took for her to recover – it helped ease her fears.

"Be honest… am I your worst first date ever?"

As the taxi began to slow to a stop, Neon was quick to give her answer before the engine shut off. That was given by a kiss on the cheek. "Absolutely not. And I'll text you about a second one, alright?"

"Okay." Before Neon could escape the car, before Weiss let the night end as badly as all that, she darted in and pecked her on the lips again. "Do that."

And with only a soft smile in return, Neon left the cab. She stood by the curb, waving as it then journeyed on towards Weiss's home. The evening had been fun for them both, in many different ways. Neon had discovered another person in the popstar scene who was just as queer as she was, while Weiss was able to come out to someone other than a relation to Yang somewhere. A win-win.

That was if the wounds from Yang weren't still fresh. But were they? It had been a month, after all, and there was no contact from Yang whatsoever apart from Ruby's word. No kind of solid proof that there was any hope of salvaging their relationship – or if they even still had one at all. Much though she didn’t want to believe it, Weiss could no longer pretend it wasn’t over – that they were simply “taking a break” or something. Complete silence like a tomb was a pretty clear signal. She'd had time to get used to that fact, so maybe it was time to move on, as well.

And as the cab pulled away from the curb, Weiss made a decision to at least attempt doing just that. If nothing else, hanging out with Neon was better than moping around, waiting for someone to come back who didn’t seem to care about her at all anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry again about the delay, but hey it wasn't so bad this time! Plus you got that spicy Emberald action to tide you over!
> 
> Speaking of which, PenpalPenny and I are working on another fic that we hope to get to you soon. It's a Halloween fic, but unfortunately we only had the idea ON Halloween lol so there was no way to write it fast enough. But maybe we won't save it until NEXT Halloween.
> 
> NEXT: Back to Bumbleby!


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: Bumbleby. Trans body dysphoria. Blowjob, light pain play, degradation.

**=Chapter 27**

While Weiss was debating the pros and cons of Neon Katt, Yang was faring considerably worse. Things didn't improve over the following weeks like Blake had promised Sun they would. Yang was always on the sofa, or in her room, either on her phone or playing video games. Sometimes Sun would come over and offer to take her with him to the gym, but she declined, asking if they could watch another terrible movie. Either way, she had barely left the house in all that time.

The remains of her pay were dwindling, getting lower and lower as she spent it on pointless junk food, booze, and more weed. She even had her own hash pipe, and was smoking every day rather than just a few times per week. When Blake had asked her to cut down, out of concern for her wallet and her health, she did - but on the junk food instead. Nobody wanted to say it, but everyone was thinking it: Yang was burning out.

And today was another day she couldn't get out of bed. All she could do was sit up, staring at her phone blankly and the image Ruby sent that morning. It was a screen capture of the interview, in which Weiss was very visibly wearing the guitar pick – as a necklace. After all this time, she never moved on. And that was bringing tears to her eyes.

Maybe she really did throw it all away for nothing. She should have trusted Weiss – trusted their love. But every time she thought about ruining her whole career, she knew she did what she had to do. 

Then there came a brief knock at the door. It was Blake; of course it was. "Yang, you up? They're doing some electrical work at the office so they sent all of us home after we did some paper filing. I, um…" A lengthy pause. "I thought we could try job-hunting again. Just see what's out there; maybe if you see the places in person instead of just on craigslist you might find somewhere to start."

There was nothing from Yang for a good solid minute as she continued to stare down at her phone, at the image of the woman she still wasn't over. And from this evidence, she obviously wasn't over her either. Ruby had meant well, but the effect was the opposite. It made her feel even worse. As she rested the phone down against the mattress, she ran her hand through her now unkempt greasy hair, realizing she was yet to answer Blake.

"Yeah? Sure, um… Whatever you want."

By this point, Blake had opened the door and was standing over her with a frown in place. When she spotted the picture of Weiss still up on the phone, able to make it out just before the screen automatically went dark to preserve power, her frown deepened.

"Yang… I don't have a nice way of saying this, but I don't think staring at pictures of her is gonna make you feel any better."

Instinctively Yang drew the hand with the phone back in toward herself, even flinching very slightly away from Blake as she shuffled over to one side. But that didn't seem to make the frown go away, only seemed to make Yang herself continue to stare at the ground. "It's all I have."

"What am-" Blake stopped herself. She was going to say something out of anger that would further push the boundaries of their relationship, even past the two or three times they had slept together. Demanding to know if she didn't count for anything. That wasn't going to help matters at all.

"Listen, you have to let her go. If you can't go back to her, and she can't come to you, then… then there's no sense in killing yourself over this anymore, is there?"

"Isn't there?" It was such a small phrase to add to the end of her motivations, but enough for some, who were looking for signs to worry about Yang's mental wellbeing.

"What? Don't be like this, you know there's a lot left going for you." She was still irritated and worried, but she sat down next to Yang and put her arm around her back. "Me and Sun, for one thing. And we'll go out today and get you some part-time work; just to get you energized, motivated. Nothing permanent yet."

Yang ended up with her head in her hands, leaning forward as she groaned into them. It was enough for Blake to see that Yang was in a complete mess, and absolutely no state to go out looking for work. Not with hair as messy as hers and not when the smell of weed lingered around the hoodie she hadn't taken off for three days.

"I'm screwed, Blake," she managed to say softly. "And half-baked, and I smell. Who in their right mind would hire me right now?"

Against her own will, she had to admit Yang made an excellent point. The blonde looked like she'd been through hell and hadn't bothered to shower in a while. She herself had gone through a phase like that a few years ago, where she stopped caring about her appearance and hygiene, but even then she hadn't quite sunk this low.

"Alright, just… can you tell me one thing? Are you still taking your hormones on schedule?"

"So you can blame all this on time of the month or something?!" she responded rather angrily, still with her head in her hands. But after a while of staring at her friend’s unimpressed face, that started to fade. She wasn't angry at Blake, but more at the bleak situation. And she had to accept that Blake had genuine concerns for her. So she lowered her hands, sighing deeply. "Not exactly. I take them when I eat."

"So you take them once a day, or every two days?" There was a slightly sharper edge to Blake's tone now, but nothing too acidic. Just enough to get her point across. There was another annoyed sigh as Yang refused to answer. "Fine, never mind, let's just… get you into the shower. I'll wash your back and do your hair for you, and then we can at least drive around looking for a little bit."

"Cause I can't even do that right." It was all passing comments, all at her own expense. But they were getting horridly more frequent then she wanted to admit: like she genuinely did feel these things toward herself. Still, she did as asked, hauling herself out of bed and standing.

"Hey," Blake said in a lighter tone as she began to nip around Yang's room and find the few articles of clothing that weren't dirty or hopelessly wrinkled. "If you're a good little girl and help me get you washed, and it takes less than an hour… I'll give you a blow job when we get home."

Rolling her eyes, Yang finally managed to force a smile as she pushed her hair behind her ears again. It didn't last for long, but was enough to show Blake she appreciated the comment. Other than that, she just headed for the bathroom.

As Yang undressed and Blake got the water running, she continued, "So I figure we'll just hit a few places in the neighborhood. No sense going all the way downtown and wading into that mess today; we can do that another time if you don't find anything."

"I, uh…" She began to hesitate. As she grasped the shower curtain to push it back, she looked over her shoulder to Blake again. Clearly she was still nervous. "I… dunno if I can go outside. Not, today, at least."

"Oh…" Once the blonde was under the water, she unbuttoned the sleeves of her blouse and began rolling them up. "Well, if we try it and we don't make it out there very long, that's okay. But I’m not letting you stay holed up here. You need to at least get a breath of fresh air."

"Maybe. I'm just… really nervous." She was able to hear her still despite being completely under the water, running her hands through her hair over and over to soak it as best she could. She couldn't even remember the last time she showered, and it was embarrassing that she needed Blake to force her before she would actually do it.

"It's okay to be nervous. But I know you can push through it; you're one of the bravest people I know, Yang. You're badass."

"A badass who needs help showering now." She sighed sadly, only just stepping out from the water to grasp the shampoo. "Sure."

Reaching in to turn off the water, Blake pushed the curtain aside and took the bottle so she could begin lathering Yang's hair without fear of getting herself wet. Only one of them still needed a shower, and clearly she didn't intend to take two in the same day.

"Brave people hit rough patches, too. It happens."

When she felt soft fingers slithering into her hair, nails massaging the substance into her hair, she sighed again. Someone else fussing over her hair and appearance made her feel so good, so wanted. Why was that feeling suddenly incredibly rare, something she cherished?

"Feels more like a pit of doom than a rough patch."

"Let me throw you a rope, then. Just because I think you're brave doesn't mean I'm gonna let you do everything all by yourself." When she noticed Yang was relaxing into her scalp massage, she leaned in and kissed her wet shoulder. "I got your back."

Yang only looked down glumly again. She had no clue where to even start to respond to her. There was so much she wanted to say and express, but she couldn't. It would cause more harm than good. So she simply looked back around to her instead. "Thanks for putting up with me."

Taking some initiative and hoping it wasn't ill-placed, Blake pressed a gentle kiss into her lips. "No biggie." 

Then she drew back and began to lather her hair in earnest. Yang continued to only sway her head back and forth in accordance to Blake's fingertips, making sure she got as much of the area as she possibly could. And once satisfied, she turned around to face her. Mainly so she could wait for Blake to get out of the way of the water.

As Blake pulled the curtain closed again, she decided to try another incentive. "So what do you think about, um, getting some wings after we finish looking for jobs? The Cubs game is on tonight."

"Do we watch baseball?" she asked, turning the water back on and massaging the substance from her scalp. It'd been so long since she showered last she could practically feel it getting lighter when the dirt and oil was washed away. Mundane topics were doing so much to help, but they weren't fixing everything, of course. 

Like the fact she was beginning to stare downwards at her body again. Something Blake had only seen her do years ago. Of course, Blake couldn't see her doing it at this moment. Only in the other ones, here and there. 

"Yeah, I know neither of us were fans, but I mean, Chicago is a baseball town and Sun's a big fan." Her voice became a lot more self-conscious as she added, "We don't have to watch it. Either way is fine."

Shrugging her shoulders, Yang began to rub the lathered shower sponge over her body. First her arms, then gradually working her way up toward the shoulders. But as she got closer to her chest again, it started to significantly slow down, like there was no motivation to take care of what she worked so hard for.

"It's something to do. But maybe some barbecue ribs?"

"Ooh, ribs would be good, too… yeah, we can get both." Blake watched her movements idly through the curtain, unable to quite tell why she wasn't washing as fast as usual but not thinking too terribly deeply on it. After all, Yang was so sluggish lately in every area of life. "And I guess I don't have to ask if you want to pick up a six-pack."

"Whole thing for me? Yes, please." That she did manage to make a happier voice for, even if she was continuing to stare down at herself. Then she was coming to the more difficult part; one that up until now was completely fine, but recently it was becoming increasingly difficult to even look at. It had to be washed, like everything, so she sluggishly lathered that as well. However, now that the subject was coming to it …

"I kinda wish I did get the bottom done now…"

"The bottom of what?" Blake asked as she eventually pushed the curtain aside to get Yang's back washed while Yang finished her front. But then she saw what she was lathering and caught on. _"Oh…_ um… oh."

Having just finished, she couldn't help but continue to stare. Even if it was embarrassing to do so. But eventually she sighed; yet again, she was bringing down the mood. "Sorry. I just… I feel like none of this would be happening if I didn't have…  _ him." _

Squirming, she kept scrubbing at Yang's back as she tried to think. "Well… maybe you could still get bottom surgery. It's not too late." Then her voice took on the quality of a schoolteacher trying to be patient with a stubborn pupil. "And what do we need to make that surgery happen?"

"Yeah yeah, I know."

"Aaaand what do we need to get what we need?" she prompted further, still not letting it drop despite Yang's monotone response. Yang closed her eyes tightly. It didn't help at all that her last job was so wonderfully paid, which was another thing she lost as well as Weiss. It made her even more bitter.

"I know you're trying to help, Blake?" She finally started to turn around so she could face her, and let the water run down her back. "But I got a horrible feeling I'm gonna end up in a fucking McDonalds."

But Blake didn't react very strongly to that notion at all. "So what if you do? No shame in working at McDonalds. I've done it - you remember." When Yang didn't react to that, she reached down and gripped Yang's package, only hard enough that she couldn't ignore the pressure.

"This does not make you who you are. It's just a thing. But if you want to change it, I'll help you." Swallowing hard, she let go and reached up to cup Yang's face. "Because  _ this  _ is you; in here."

Finally she looked back into the amber eyes once again. It was hard to tell what was tears and what was just the water anymore, but Yang genuinely smiled this time. Even if it was for only a short while, Blake had helped remind her of something that was very hard to remember lately. She had been about to hug Blake, until realizing… 

"Wait, you already showered."

“ Oh, right, I …  here. ”  Leaning in, she kissed her on the cheek and patted her shoulder, laughing as she added,  “I’ ll dry both of us off afterward, and then we can have a real hug. ”

Turning off the water once she had finished getting the last of the suds, Yang smiled contentedly once more, grasping a towel from the nearby handrail and immediately getting to work. However, she also began to laugh. "Hey, I finished in that hour as well, so …  pucker up."

"What?" Then she blanched as she finished drying off her own forearms. "Jesus, Yang… really?" But Yang was only darkly amused; she knew that Yang was going to take her at her word. "Fine, I guess I did promise. You want me on my knees in here or on the bed?"

"…Well shit; I was just kidding, too." But given that Blake was now smirking as Yang continued to dry herself and started to tuck the towel around her, apparently neither of them were kidding as much as they claimed. While usually she would have jumped on the chance, said straight away for Blake to go on her knees, this time she seemed intent on leaving the room. Or even no interest in having one at all. But maybe that mood would change. "Um… the bedroom, I guess?"

In truth, Blake was still kidding, even now. However, Yang being even vaguely interested in doing something was enough reason for her to go with her without complaint. Blow jobs weren't her favorite thing to do in the bedroom, but she liked seeing Yang or Sun satisfied because of her tongue's talents and didn't mind the taste or sensation that much. Therefore…

"Let's go," she said easily, taking Yang's hand and leading her out of the bathroom.

"O-oh…" Nervously she followed, hanging onto Blake's hand and allowing herself to be led however she wished. Now she knew this was actually going to happen, she was questioning it. Why, first off? Since she woke up, all she had done was either treat Blake like crap, or talk about herself in a pessimistic way. And yet Blake was still in the mood for this?

Then next came something she never thought she'd hear herself think. Did she  _ deserve  _ it? Did she really deserve someone to touch and tease her with their tongue, completely lavish her in a way only a partner could? All she could think was: no, she didn't. She didn't deserve that happiness — not when she was a burden to her in her home, and a burden overall.

But Blake was so eager, that much was clear when Yang was pushed down on the bed. How could she get out of this properly? Make it something that Blake could enjoy without feeling guilty? She had to think…

"You know," Blake murmured as she ran her hands over the towel covering Yang's body, "I was beginning to think our, um… 'arrangement' was over this past week. You haven't seemed that interested in doing anything."

Laying back on the plush surface of Blake's bed, she closed her eyes tightly, groaning sadly. So she had noticed something was up, other than her appearance and eating. "Yet you still wanna put up with me," she said calmly, almost as a way of putting her off. In truth, she was trying to delay her while she thought the options through.

"Well, of course. I'm patient, even with assholes who steal my weed. When they can fuck me right." When that didn't even make Yang smile or laugh, Blake's smile slipped a notch. "I'm kidding… of course I care about you for  _ way _ more reasons than just how much dick you give me."

Tucking her ever drying hair behind her ear, that did provoke a small smile again. And even the  wittier comment; "A reasonable amount, right?"

Blake crawled up on top of Yang's body, pressing her own right down flush and staring deep into her eyes. Her voice dropped into a slightly huskier tone as she whispered, "I've never  _ once  _ been a dissatisfied customer."

Swallowing, Yang stared downward at the space between them. Or more, the lack of it. Blake always had her ways of enticing her, drawing her in leaving her completely speechless. Even now, when their arrangement was solely for fucking. That's how Yang would describe it; brief moments of desire just to vent out emotion.

But Yang didn't feel she deserved such things. Not now. And although she suppressed it, the doubts kept resurfacing.

So Blake pressed her body down harder, ghosted her lips over Yang ’ s. In the past, all she had needed to do was what she had done so far to get her going - whether or not she had been going by "Ying" at the time. But this time, Yang just didn't seem to have any desire whatsoever; even though she wasn't pushing her away, it was as if nothing could get her going. Nothing in the world.

At least that's how it seemed. In Yang's case, the body was willing, but the mind was not. Blake's actions and grinding  were causing the side effect she had intended, making the length under the towel begin to harden and grow warm. Even when Blake's mouth  met hers on occasion, there was no drive. No desire to kiss her. Blake needed a new strategy.

Though it frustrated her that something was off, she could feel her body's response. Not everything was broken; she just needed a little extra something to push her past her general malaise. After a few more kisses that went nowhere, she began to slide down her body, tucking the towel aside as she went.

"Hello," she breathed onto the surface of the partial arousal she found there.

That provoked something at least. A small sigh of enjoyment, and a little throb in Blake’s plaything. But apart from that, nothing else. Not even a sassy remark. For the moment, Blake was content to stroke along it, lave all over it with her tongue to make it longer, more rigid. Around the time she had it ready to go at it full tilt, she glanced back up…

And saw Yang was still dead-eyed and quiet. Not herself at all - even compared to the semi-depressed Yang from a week ago. Was she not doing this right? Sure, they hadn't done it together in years, but she thought she had become fairly good at this through practice. Sun certainly never had any complaints…

There was an idea that finally came to Yang. Maybe there was a way Blake could enjoy this and do something to help her. She could ask of different things to be done to her while the blowjob was happening, maybe things she didn't like, but would at least keep her from losing interest and focus.

Ducking her head, she said, "I have a request…"

Immediately abandoning her previous goal, she grasped Yang's length and raised her head. "Yeah? Name it."

"This… Is gonna sound really weird," she started off, averting her gaze away from Blake's again. The one thing she craved was to feel something.  _ Anything _ . And the most obvious way she thought she could feel that, was through pain.

"…Slap it."

"Slap… wait, what are we talking about here?" Blake's amber eyes narrowed slightly in confusion as she glanced between Yang's ashamed expression and the thickness in her hand. "You want me to slap  _ this?" _

"Yes," she answered without delay, still averting her gaze from her. Clearly this was a tough thing for her to ask of her judging by the fact there was no eye contact. 

But in the end, Blake slid her hand down a little lower, staring at the erect length as she debated her next course of action. Yes, she could slap it once; see how Yang felt about it. Maybe this was something she had been curious about for a long time, or maybe she'd done it to herself before and wanted more of the same. Either way, it didn't seem too bad to raise her hand and swat across it gently. After she did so, hearing the quiet tapping noise that came from it, she looked up questioningly. 

"Like that?"

There was a small intake of air when it was tapped; but then she shook her head. It didn't do enough, not nearly enough for the effect she wanted. Yes it affected her slightly, but not enough to fill that void.

"Harder," she commanded, allowing for her to try again.

And Blake obliged. Rearing back her hand, she put about double the  force into this swing, and the resulting sound was louder; she herself winced at hearing it, but didn't know how Yang felt about receiving such abuse.

Far more reactions this time. She flinched forward, bit her lip and took in more air. A slap like that to such a sensitive area was abuse alright; and sent a wicked sensation of mingling pain and intensity up her spine. When she dared release her lip from her own teeth, she hissed, "Y-yeah, like that."

The girl's eyes narrowed even more, and her mouth opened to ask a question, but it seemed unnecessary; Yang was asking for more. Surely she wouldn't do that if she wasn't enjoying the sensation… even if it seemed like something she shouldn't.

"Do you want me to, like… talk dirty while I do it or anything?"

At first she shook her head. But then again, she had to think about that. The point of this was to express how much she didn't deserve this much affection and consideration, but pain instead; for being an awful person to her friends, her sister, Weiss… She couldn't tell her to say that exactly, but something along those lines would certainly help.

"Tell me I'm a bad person. That I deserve it."

"Well… okay." Again, she flashed her hand across its girth — and this time she followed the action up with, "You naughty girl." 

Yet again she flinched, fingers digging into the sheets to try and help her cope a little, closed her eyes tightly to bare it. But the phrase didn't quite sit right for her. 'Naughty' just seemed too innocent, like she had just been winding Blake up all day and got her pent up. It didn't seem like the right word to use for this. 

“N-Not naughty…  _ bad _ ."

Again, Blake said, "Okay." This time, she sounded a lot less "okay" with the idea than before, though. Yang seemed to really want to be told she was bad… struck repeatedly across her erection. Flogged. This was a side of her she'd never shown before - never in all of the years they had known each other.

"Bad girl," she tested out, smacking it again - this time with the back of her hand. Yang groaned out with the pain, yet again grasping the sheets so she could bear it. Even if it was becoming impossible by the minute. When there was another after that, she shuddered again, eyes tightening shut more. But it was working. It was making her feel something, something other than numbness. It was doing just as she intended.

"That's right, you're… so bad." Clearly, Blake was out of her element; playacting this wasn't going over very well because she didn't believe what she was saying. But her blows were definitely right on the mark; they were getting harder and harder in very tiny increments. After two more, she said, "How dare you think…"

She paused, and seemed to finally come up with a reason. How dare she think  _ what? _ It was hard, because she didn’t think Yang had done anything wrong personally. So she tried something.  "How dare you think I would give you a blow job? I'll have to punish you for that."

Perfect. Yang nodded to show she approved of the character, even if her body was showing the tell-tale signs that she did not. There was such a huge and confusing contrast between her! She was asking for more with her voice, but her entire self was flinching at it, trying to bear the pain rather than give in. All apart from the erection, of course, which was hard as a rock now. But why would she be demanding such pain when she clearly  _ wasn't  _ enjoying it?

If not for the hardness of her cock, Blake probably would have already stopped, deciding on her own this particular experiment had yielded horribly negative results. But Yang was hard… she was at least enjoying this to some degree. For whatever reason.

"You filthy… bad woman," she tried again, and this time dug in slightly with her fingernails on the base of the cock. "What made you think I wanted this in my mouth? You're the  _ worst!" _ And she punctuated this by slapping her again, still gouging in with her other hand.

Yelling out again, Yang reached up to hang onto the pillow above her, this time instinctively bending her knees in order to try and get her off of her. Not that she wanted it to stop, but her body knew it just couldn't take anymore. Maybe that should be the sign for Blake to stop, since Yang clearly wasn't going to tell her. These days she was barely talkative at all, let alone during sex.

However, Yang hadn't said anything directly, and Blake was in completely uncharted waters. "You want me to take this in my mouth? Why don't you beg?" Again, she slapped it.  _ "Beg _ me to take you!"

Another strained groan as Yang tried to hold on. This time tensing up her arms as she could feel her eyes start to water. Not that she would tell Blake. She wanted her to keep going, punish that area of her that shouldn't be there. But she couldn't tough it out anymore; it was too intense. 

"P-please…"

"Louder!" But this time she didn't smack it again; she was beginning to sense that they had taken this as far as they safely could, judging from the bleakness of Yang's words. Maybe her old friend enjoyed the pain somehow, in a way that she herself could not fathom, but she wouldn't hurt Yang permanently. That kind of sadism just wasn't within her.

"Please, I- I want it!" she called out louder this time. She had been about to shout out “I want to be hurt again”, but something stopped her. Deep down, she didn't want any more pain. But that still didn't stop the horrible gut feeling that she didn't deserve to feel the pleasure that was to come.

That was enough. Blake fell to enveloping Yang's tortured, stinging flesh with her soft tongue and lips, soothing and lavishing gentle affection all over. She had to admit, it felt warmer than it had in a while, but even knowing why wasn't enough to make her want to repeat this "experiment".

And once again, Yang's breathing was beginning to increase in volume and intensity. There were just too many things going through her mind yet again, and that was without the weed or booze she usually had I her system. It felt fantastic, a pleasant coolness to quell her flames. But that was the problem again: not feeling like she deserved to be happy. 

But it was too late to stop her now. Within a minute, her old friend was bobbing up and down expertly upon her cock, eyes half-closed in concentration as she took it slowly to the back of her throat, and then down inside. One hand was laid upon her hip, thumb in the sweet spot where leg met abdomen, resting comfortably. Much more familiar territory, and she was glad to keep going until Yang finished.

Letting her eyes fall shut, Yang lay her head back, resigning to the sensation with a slightly higher pitched sigh than before. She could already feel her hips beginning to move upward to meet with Blake's actions, and after very little adjustment time, feel her lips getting to the base of her length. All the times she could remember before, Blake took a while to adjust, and even then struggled to cope for so long. This of course made it obvious that she had been practicing.

That much was abundantly clear; she was flying up and down with such ease that it was almost like she did this every day. And perhaps she had. Blake and Sun had been going out for a while, and she had another boyfriend between the two. Who knows how many chances she'd had to test the limits of her throat?

At this rate it was taking no time at all for her to bring Yang closer. And closer still. She could feel her muscles beginning to tense and quiver, even if she attempted to hold off. Blake didn't want to put up with that yet did she?

Or did she want to do it at all? She remembered Blake didn't particularly enjoy this activity. She would swallow, but often look up with a relatively disgusted expression. That's how it was in the past, how she remembered. And yet Yang's last girlfriend  _ loved _ it. Loved it so much that the photos Yang had existing of her featured those lips around her member, and her face coated in it. She loved everything about her.

And yet again, she was finding herself thinking of another woman while Blake was going down on her.  _ 'What the fuck is wrong with you?' _ her conscience screamed.

But if Blake had any strong reservations anymore about this activity, she certainly wasn't showing it. Her lips went all the way to the base with ease, over and over. Her other hand drifted lower and gently cupped the sack below, fondling the spheres inside as she sucked her off.

"Ooohhh…." There was the needy moaning again, and yet more quivering of her legs. She was so close now, so painfully close to finishing right in Blake's mouth. That was certainly spurred on when her delicate spheres were toyed with. Breathing getting heavier, she managed to force out the words of warning, "C-close! So close!"

The only reaction was a humming against the length; eager, contented humming. Blake had no desire to slow down or pull Yang out, and definitely wasn't doing it so far. Just gently encouraging her to finish, and finish exactly where she was.

Finally she couldn't take anymore. When she hit the back of Blake's throat one more time she felt herself shuddering violently, and allowed herself another rather loud moan as she throbbed hard inside her, but this time just in the warmth of her mouth. Seed spurted itself to the back of her throat, beyond her control. To her credit, Blake didn ’ t even flinch, didn ’ t balk at the thick fluids in her throat; she simply swallowed them down with some minimal effort, repeating the action until Yang was entirely spent, falling back on the bed, panting heavily, cheeks slightly damp from where a few tears had fallen.

Then she drew back licking her lips, smiling up at her lover. "Mmm… thank you for feeding me, bad girl."

When she looked back up toward her, she would be able to see the worn-out face of Yang. And the slight wetness at her cheeks and below her eyes. But straight away, she covered them, trying to disguise it by breathing heavily, composing herself as much as she could. When Yang didn't answer, Blake crawled up to press her body along the other in her bed, curling tightly inward. 

"Yang… is… there something we should talk about?"

Managing to wipe away the wetness from her eyes so it wasn't too noticeable anymore, she blinked a few times before she answered again. "H-huh?" It was shaky, and not from being exhausted. "W-what do you mean?"

"Well… I don't know. You've never asked me to like,  _ hit  _ you. Not ever, and not  _ there _ . So like, I mean… maybe that's something you were into with Weiss? But I don't know if I like it." 

Blake looked very shy about bringing these things up, and also as if that wasn't the entirety of the topic. Merely the tip of the iceberg. Yang looked away, but at least this time she had an arm open for Blake to nuzzle into, and it was bringing her slightly in toward her. Probably the closest contact she'd had all week. 

"It's nothing I've tried before… I just kind of thought…" But she found herself shrugging her shoulders. "I dunno…"

Nodding sullenly, she curled in harder against her side. "You just… lately it seems like nothing's good enough. Nothing makes you happy anymore. Right after you got here, you went through moods, but now you only seem to have one mood: sad. A-and I don’t know what to do, Yang."

The words were hardly registering to Yang's ears as she seemed to stare off into the distance. But she was managing to get the picture. Blake had noticed something was up, but hadn't yet dropped the bomb. She didn't like where this was going.

"What are you saying? ”

"Maybe…. you should…" Blake trailed off. All she could feel was stupid for bringing this up now, for trying to tell Yang what she should or shouldn't do. They weren't dating, not really; they weren't in a committed relationship where she had a true stake in Yang's future and therefore had the right to speak on this topic. In all honesty, Yang would probably disregard her advice either way. There was little point.

But this time, Yang  _ wanted _ to know what she was thinking. It seemed like this was going to be something too big for Blake's mind if she let her stew on it and think about it. "Should what?"

"Okay, this is just a suggestion. But maybe you should… talk to somebody." A pause. "A professional somebody."

"Huh?" Finally she was beginning to piece things together. Blake mentioned that her moods were all over, and now that she was just sad, how she seemed constantly bored. It added up to something. "You mean, like a shrink? You think I'm depressed?"

"Aren't you? I mean, I already knew you were, but now I'm starting to worry that it's… with a capital 'D'." Frowning, she ghosted her hand up and down Yang's neck as she whispered, "I'm not trying to start anything, and obviously I don't know you as well as you know yourself, but like… how am I supposed to ignore how much you don't care about anything anymore?"

There was a pause. A long pause as Yang began to think about it. Her? Depressed? That couldn't be right. Sure, she was before her transition at times, but hadn't been in years. It wouldn't have been back because of Weiss, would it? That was a stupid reason! Nobody actually got depression over  _ breakups _ , did they? She always thought it was an excuse people gave, a way to trick their exes back into a relationship. And she wouldn't let anyone else think that.

"Hah… Hahahaha!" she forced a laugh, bringing Blake in extra tightly with a fake smile for a moment, even pasting a kiss against her cheek. "Noooo, me? No way! This is… this is just a rough patch, like you said. No biggie."

There was a very visible, very real sigh of relief from Blake as she let herself be cuddled and reassured. But her hug back against Yang was so tight that it almost became a cling. "Okay, if you're sure. I'm… I believe you."

"D-don't worry about it, okay?" She was slightly more hesitant that time. However, she did lean in to place a kiss on her forehead, allowing herself the pleasure of clinging back on her, brushing her free hand up and down Blake's side. "I just have bad days sometimes, and I think I let this one get too far. I'm sorry I made you think I was… yeah, that. My bad. I’ll try harder to be less of a downer."

"Alright. I just… really don't want to lose you," Blake whispered. There were a thousand more things she wanted to say, but none of them were her right. So she left it at that… for now.


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: Weiss/Neon chapter. Abuse mentions, underage drinking, drunken makeouts, nipple piercings, panic.
> 
> This chapter is dedicated to Kesha, Alison Sudol, and any artist or non-artist who had to go through what Neon goes through in this story. You are fierce warriors no matter what your circumstance.

**=Chapter 28**

“ …and it actually didn ’ t go too horribly, ”  Weiss was gushing into the phone as her driver maneuvered her Lexus in and out of the Nashville traffic while she rested comfortably in the back seat. Today, she was wearing more flamboyant clothing than the simple black dress from last time, but it still wasn ’ t her usual  “Weiss Style” ; her hair being stuffed into a blue scarf would help disguise her identity to some degree. 

“Really? Like, we‘re talking about  _ NEON?!“ _

“I know! Well, I’ m sure you ’ ve seen how she acted in that interview, and every other interview she ’ s ever given. Once you get her alone in person, though, she ’s…  totally different. Steady, and warm, and confident in a WAY less irritating way. And you saw the picture I sent of the napkin-note, right?! ”

"I did! And actually  _ didn't  _ put it online this time!" At least Ruby could joke about that now, giggling slightly through the phone. As much as she wanted to be grinning in excitement and squealing like Weiss probably was, she forced herself to hold back. After all, she was still in contact with the ever-declining Yang. Still, she couldn’t help smiling at Weiss ’ s obvious excitement. "I just can't believe she's so different! It's crazy! Yet you're… well, not the  _ exact  _ same, but similar. Do most pop stars do that? Have a secret identity sorta thing?"

“ Comes with the territory, I ’ m afraid, ”  she sighed, crossing her legs so her other floral-printed wedge pointed in the opposite direction.  “ With the public watching every move you make like hawks, and TMZ and Perez Hilton out there thinking they can say whatever they want …  I mean, if somebody makes a rude comment and I slap him, all they ’ ll remember is that I slapped him. So I have to pay attention to who  _ else  _ is paying attention. ”

"Ooohhh… So you have super enhanced noticing skills, like a Weiss Ninja!" And then Ruby was quiet a moment, before giggling. "Hey, that sounds like a cool song name! Credit me!"

Snorting bemusedly, Weiss glanced out the window at the trees passing by. They were getting closer to Neon's apartment now. "Sure will. Anyway, would it… I mean, is this what's known as a 'rebound'? Am I on the rebound, should I be worried about messing this up?"

Ruby didn't know how to answer truthfully. She understood that Yang certainly was right now, having been told of her and Blake's arrangements after a certain drunken confession one Skype call – not that she really wanted to think about her sister’s sex life. But this for Weiss seemed much more cautious and casual; she and Neon hadn’t done anything like that yet. So she shook her head. 

"I don't  _ think  _ so? I guess you gotta find out for yourself what you like." And then another thought came to mind, even if it was one she enjoyed even less when thinking about with her sister. "Plus, if it does go…  _ places; _ it's gonna be a different experience with… y'know."

That did slowly wipe the smile from Weiss's face. She had thought about that, as well; Neon, so far as she knew, had the same parts she had. How would they even do things? There were a few tricks she remembered Yang doing to her that didn't involve her "secret sausage", and she supposed they could try those out…

But merely thinking about them was bringing a blush to her cheeks, so she cut off that train of thought and merely said, "R-right, I know. And I have thought about that, but honestly, first I'd like to get past a second kiss without freaking out and almost jumping from the cab while it's in motion!"

"Soooo you guys didn't make out or something? I thought you would have… w-wait, I’m not calling you a slut or anything! It's just, um… I'm rambling again aren't I?" She groaned outwardly as the cab was beginning to come to a stop outside one of the larger, far fancier apartment complexes. One that no one on an average paycheque could afford. 

"You're fine, don't worry so much," Weiss laughed, genuine warmth in her voice. That was beginning to shine through more and more as time went on; she was now able to separate Ruby being her friend from her feelings about her sister. Not easily, but it was finally possible. "Sorry, gotta go, Ruby - talk to you later!"

"Later, Weiss!" the girl got in before Weiss ended the call.

Getting out of the car, Weiss gave her driver instructions to pull up out of the way and wait, and he nodded his understanding. Craning her neck up at the building, she appreciated the view much more during the daylight hours; when Neon got out before, it had been quite dark outside and she was too flustered by the kiss to get a good look at it. Now she could see beautiful marble moldings, arches and iron grilles, a fountain on the lawn. Privately thinking she might not mind living in an area like this, she walked up to the door and inside.

"Good evening, Miss," the elderly doorman said, sitting comfortably behind the polished black stone desk in the lobby.

"Hello," she answered him with a slight smile. "I'm going to Neon Katt's apartment? I believe I'm expected."

"If you'd be Weiss, you are. Just sign here, please?" When he indicated the book laying open, she dashed off her signature. She noticed another above hers that also listed Neon as the resident the guest was visiting; it was dated half an hour ago. Was this bad timing, or was Neon having a party that she hadn't mentioned?

"There you go," she sighed at length, placing the pen down.

"Good. You may proceed; she's on the fifth floor, suite 504."

"Thank you. And judging from Neon and myself, I have a hunch that sign-in book would be worth quite a lot of money."

His smile was bemused, but also shrewd. "It would. That's why it's currently chained to the desk, and goes into a locked cabinet when full. Good day, Miss."

On the elevator ride up, Weiss turned that over and over in her mind. Why would someone else be there? She had thought this would be a more official date, given their conversations and the texts they had exchanged since. She still didn't know what Neon had in mind for their evening, but having another person tag along seemed pretty strange.

Then she was standing in front of 504 and trying to calm her thundering nerves. Why? It's not as if this was such a big deal. But telling herself that she had nothing to fear but fear itself — and a lifetime of loneliness if she couldn't push herself at least this much — she reached for the doorbell.

And heard a noise from the other side of the door that stopped her hand cold.

"Don't you know who I am?! I  _ made  _ your career! Nobody would know your name if it wasn't for me, you little cunt!"

"And that gives you the right to come over unannounced and try…  _ this?! _ I'm not afraid of what happens anymore, I'm going to find someone else!"

"You  _ should _ be afraid."

The shouting was rather muffled from behind the door. One Neon, one a masculine sounding voice. But the various noises to gather from it was the slight movement of some of the furniture, and some various groans and grunts. Judging by the situation she had just overheard, it sounded more like a struggle rather than her interrupting some kind of intimate moment. Who on earth was in there?!

But it all came to an end when there was a loud yelp of pain, coming from the male voice. "You BITCH! Why would you do that?!"

Weiss's instincts screamed for her to run from whatever this encounter was, regardless of finding out more or what Neon would wish. But she couldn't; she was rooted to the spot. On a whim, she tried the doorknob—

And found it spun freely, unlocked. Whoever had come to pay Neon a visit, she was expecting him to leave right away. Steeling herself for whatever she was about to find on the other side, she slowly, quietly eased the door open.

"You're gonna regret this. You can bet on that, my love."

Those words were spoken when the door was slightly ajar, before it swung upon completely. Neon’s visitor was a rather tall, well dressed one, with shaggy dyed-red hair, black roots just able to be seen within it. Distracting away from that was a scratch across his face, dangerously close to his eyes. It was deep, and fresh. His glaring eyes went straight to Weiss as she stood in the doorway. Although it seemed he didn't quite register who it was when he first answered in a strained voice. 

"And what are  _ you  _ looking at?!"

She didn't begin by responding. Instead, her hand raised the phone that was still in her left hand and took a picture of him looking menacing and Neon looking surprised. Both of their clothes were rumpled, her pink tube top with a slight rip in the fabric, and the scratch on his face was clearly visible.

"Ah, ah," she said before he could make another move, thumb flying over the touchscreen. "I already Snapchatted this to my friend - and if you try anything else, it goes on Instagram where the world can see. Now, who are you and what business do you have here?"

"W-wha…" Shocked by the sudden turn of events, he looked back toward Neon, who was now starting to appear more annoyed than surprised as she tugged her top back into position. Then he looked straight back to Weiss, and finally he recognized her. "What am I doing here? What are  _ you  _ doing here?!"

"I invited her." Neon spoke up. "Or is that against my contract? Having friends?"

"Oh, do you want me to leave?" Weiss asked innocently, phone still held up and at the ready.

Looking back and forth between them both yet again, he eventually settled to just glaring back down at Weiss. Rather than saying anything else, he marched forward, barging past as quick as possible as he headed to the elevators, mumbling under his breath about something neither girl could make out.

Once he was out of the way, Neon dropped herself onto the sofa again, finding herself pushing the clothing up again as she groaned in annoyance. "For fuck sake, I really liked this top too…"

Pushing the door closed behind herself - and locking it - Weiss asked, "I don't mean to be nosy, but… who was that?"

"My producer. Well, my now  _ ex- _ producer." With no avail on fixing her top, she got up from her seat, groaning in even more frustration. "Nope. It's fucked. You don't mind if I change, do you?"

"N-no, go ahead. I can wait." She followed her down the hallway and stood just outside the bedroom door, leaning back against the wall. "So… your producer decided he was entitled to a few 'fringe benefits'? Or did I misread the situation?"

There was a sharp laugh. "That's one word for it! The guy's been coming onto me for months, I figured he was just playing along because of my whole image thing …  and then today he comes over to give me some news about the lineup at Beach Fest. Next minute, he's getting handsy and trying to yank my top off!"

Weiss could feel her blood boiling. "I can't believe this. That picture can still go on Insta if you want; I'm not above public shaming if it's a jerkface like him who has clearly earned it."

She rolled her eyes, having just picked out a white tank top from the closet. "Nah, you'll just make him mad. And I'd rather  _ not  _ piss him off, if you know what I mean?" Quickly pulling the ruined tube top off first, she could be heard pacing around the bedroom as she went to fetch a bra, seeing as her previous one didn't need it. 

"But he deserves to be… I don't know! Arrested, or something! Nobody has a right to your body, and he doesn't get to act like he does! That's…  _ UGHHH!" _

Bra in place, she slipped her tank top on over the top of it. It wasn't the look she was hoping for today's dinner date, but alas, she had no choice now; the rest of her clothing was too flashy or too formal.

"I do that, he'll fuck up my chances of renewing my contract. It didn't go too far, so reporting it's pointless."

"Neon…" A sigh issued from the other diva as she decided to drop the matter. Clearly, Neon had made up her mind to sweep this under the rug, and as much as she wanted to argue for making him pay for doing that to her, there was little point. "Alright. But he better not pull this again or I  _ will  _ call the police."

"Please don't, I can handle this," she assured her, finally pulling open the door. Now Weiss could see Neon's outfit properly. A white tank top, with the black bra rather obviously underneath, with two meme pins attached to the right breast. All made complete with a pair of black shorts. Casual but nice. Gesturing for Weiss to look, she asked. "Do I look okay, anyways?"

Now she found herself quite distracted from the producer's attempted assault. "You look great, of course. But you always look great and you're well aware of that, so asking me is just you fishing for compliments."

"Actually, I'm… genuinely asking." Now she started to scratch the top of her head with a slight blush forming. " ’ Cause I did plan that top to be for you… Then he ripped it, and yeah. I wanted this evening to go okay, but now that's fucked, and dinner's gonna be late because I thought he'd be gone in time for cooking, so now it's gonna have to be take out an-"

"You look incredible," Weiss cut through her babbling, smiling gently as she reached up to caress her cheek. Even though that action was somewhat bold for Weiss, she felt it was important on this occasion. "Sorry for being snippy; I'm still mad about what's-his-name."

"You and me both…" She looked downward a moment. But feeling the hand on her cheek was making her start to grin giddily, and reach out for Weiss's spare hand. "C'mon, let's pick our flick. I dunno what you're into but I got wine if you wouldn ’ t mind trying that?"

"You know, why not?" she snorted as they turned to go back to the living room. "We'll be safely in your apartment. And we could still make dinner; what do you have in the fridge? I'm no Rachael Ray but I can throw a few things together."

"I  _ had  _ a lasagna, but that takes quite a while to cook. Timewise, sharing Chinese might be easier… plus after being manhandled by Adam, I ’ m not too amped about being another woman in the kitchen. Which, I know, flawed feminism or whatever." 

Gesturing over to the large leather sofa, she was clearly insisting on Weiss to make herself at home as she paced to the cupboard.Opening the door revealed many shelves of all kinds of DVD's and Blu Rays, even if most would be available for download! Seemed Weiss was in the hands of a collector. 

"Hmm… comedy, chick flick, what's your pleasure?"

"What?" It seemed Weiss was distracted by something; she was still standing by the arm of the couch without having sat down. "Oh… yeah, whatever you want is fine."

"You sure?" she asked, not noticing that Weiss was distracted yet since she had her back to her. After a while of looking however, she then grinned. "Hey, how about  _ Avengers? _ Haven’ t seen that in ages!"

“Umm, I’ ve seen it. ”  That was all she said, but of course, she didn ’ t mention  _ with whom _ . Even though it was all she could think about. Trying to bat aside all the errant thoughts in her head, she spoke up,  “ Maybe a chick flick; something that doesn ’ t require a lot of thought so it won ’ t matter much if we miss anything, since we ’ ll be eating and talking. ”

"Oh, okay! Um…." Roaming away from the super hero movies and down to the girlies movies, she gasped rather loudly. "Oh man,  _ Mean Girls! _ How about that? It’s been forever, I could definitely handle a rewatch."

At length, Weiss did sink down into the couch, even though she was still fielding the thoughts that she didn't want to entertain. Ones about curling up on a bed in her tour bus, gazing at a laptop screen… "Hmm, I don't think I ever seen it."

"Oh dude, are you kidding me? HOW?! Lindsay is so  ‘ fetch ’  in this one!" Taking it from the shelf, she then eagerly turned back toward Weiss again; and noticed that she was a lot more sunken down into the sofa. Her own excitement began to wane slightly. "Are you okay?"

"Huh?" Blinking up at Neon, she finally came back to the present - and noticed the way she was looking at her. The melancholy must be showing all over her face. Shaking her head out, she smiled up at her and said, "N-no, I'm fine. You, um, wanna start the movie and then order our food? Do you have a menu?"

"Sure! I got it somewhere around here…" Pacing toward the small table near the TV, she first inserted the disc to get it playing, and then went straight for the drawers below, quickly rummaging through to pull or a small leaflet. "Ah hah! Here we go." Quickly skipping back to the sofa to hand over the leaflet, she headed back to the kitchen to fetch the wine. "Dunno if you've ever ordered anything from Flower Power's buffet, but it's  _ sooo  _ good. They do pancakes as well, which is kinda weird, but they're just as good!"

"Pancakes from a Chinese place?" But now that she was alone, she was staring at the menu -  _ through  _ the menu. Every time she came close to forgetting everything, to letting herself enjoy spending time with this new person in her life… the ghosts came back to haunt. Yang would have  _ loved _ the idea of a Chinese place that made pancakes. It would have cracked her up.

"Yang isn't coming back," she breathed to herself, near-silent. "Neon is here. You're here. Focus on the present, forget the past. Don't miss out on something good because you can't move on… like she did."

Her present date had arrived back from the kitchen with two wine glasses in hand, both filled with ros é . She didn't even hesitate before sitting herself down at Weiss's side, nudging up to her closely as she held out the glass to her, purposely pursing her lips and putting on a fake voice. 

"Your beverage, miss."

Weiss couldn't help it; she laughed. Harder than she should have, and too hard to take the glass just yet, certainly. Such a silly, small thing did a lot more to dispel the lingering spirit of her failed relationship than her own self-imposed pep talk.

"Why, thank you,  _ garcon, _ " she finally giggled as she took it. "Is it a good year? Does it have an oaky palate?"

"Hmm, I'd say it has an excellent texture, the finest for a mademoiselle like yourself." She grinned, holding up the glass in the air for a moment longer, tilting her head. "What should we toast?"

That took Weiss no time at all to decide; it had already been on her mind, after all. "To… new beginnings." Her hand raised the glass, and she fixed Neon with a calm smile, one that was more at peace than she felt inside.

“New beginnings!”

* * *

 

Roughly an hour and a half later, their new beginning was in good progress. The film was almost over, not that either of them had noticed since they had been chatting and eating all the way through as Weiss predicted. More this time about likes and dislikes, getting to know one another's personalities and traits so to best figure out middle ground. There was a lot of giggling, and another glass of wine involved. Certainly enough to make Neon feel that bit  giddier .

And as she stumbled back to the DVD cabinet, she called up. "Okay okay, there is a sequel, but it's kinda bad, so you wanna watch something like a musical? I have  _ Chicago, Moulin Rouge… _ "

“Haven’ t seen those, either, ”  she laughed, legs curled off to one side as she sipped at her second glass. Neon was enjoying a third, but Weiss was doing her best to pace herself; she didn ’ t want to do anything like accidentally outing herself as  “gay”  the way she had on their last date.  “ My father wouldn ’ t let me. I mean, have I been missing out on everything?! Seriously! ”

"Well that depends, would your dad approve of you watching a tonne of women in prison? …Now I made it sound like Orange is the New Black," she giggled, soon swapping the disks and then sitting back at Weiss's side once again. Now she had no fear of instantly putting an arm around her, pulling her in close to cuddle up for the movie. They had been doing so anyway along with chatting and giggling.

"Another thing I haven't watched; Dad  _ really  _ didn't approve of all the lesbians!" Then she rolled her eyes as she reached forward to grab the fortune cookies from the coffee table. "Ironic, I know." She offered one to Neon as she leaned back into her embrace again, smiling slightly. "Shall we find out what our fortunes say?"

"You really believe that mumbo jumbo?" she asked, but didn't object to the idea one bit, and grasped one from her. "Who goes first? You or me?"

"After you. And I don't, but… well, they're fun, right? I always love to have a good laugh at the expense of the mumbo jumbo." Weiss turned slightly to watch Neon open her cookie, a playful little smile in place. She was really enjoying herself, and with a bellyful of wine and sweet-and-sour chicken, she wanted to keep the good mood going. 

Cracking the cookie open, she picked out the small piece of paper inside, unrolling it straight away to have a quick read. But before she could even read it aloud, she was already laughing. All she could do to was hand it over to Weiss. It read:  _ 'A member of the opposite sex will appear and blow you away!' _

First, Weiss snorted, then fell to laughing just as much as her friend, doubled over completely. It was nearly a minute before she could gasp out, "Oh GOD! That… either one of us could have opened it, and…  _ ahahahahaaaa!" _

"Someone needs to tell the guys that make these that gay people are a thing!" She continued to laugh, finally brushing a tear out from the corner of her eye. Putting the remains of the cookie in her mouth to eat, she asked with a mouthful, "Come on! You next!"

"Okay, okay," Weiss giggled as she shucked the wrapper and broke open the cookie. Pulling out the scrap of paper, she read out loud, "'Someone from your past will return to surprise y… surprise you'. Oh."

Neon was still giggling to herself at her own cookie, even while she was finishing eating it. She didn't notice at all that Weiss's expression was starting to drop, and managed to speak up before she took her drink. "Well fuck, that's my great aunt coming back and asking for free concert tickets."

There was a vague nod, and then Weiss tossed the cookie and the paper onto the table. Her appetite had evaporated entirely along with her pleasant demeanor. "Yeah. I mean, who really wants the past coming back? It's supposed to stay there."

"Yeah, you tell that cookie! Past had it's chance, it can get fucked." Still not noticing, she instead cuddled up to Weiss's side, nuzzling her cheek against her shoulder as she peppered it with a kiss or two. The alcohol was doing something to her, even if she wasn't quite drunk yet.

"I'd rather focus on what's right here…"

A slow smile began to steal across Weiss's face as she felt Neon getting frisky. She was absolutely right; the past could "get fucked", to borrow her phrase. Add into that how curious she had been about feeling Neon up against her…

"The present does feel pretty nice." 

It was hard for her, but she managed to raise a hands and pet along Neon’s shoulders; she wasn't kissing back, but she could lean against her head very slightly. Show that she wasn't entirely opposed to this. As Neon began to kiss up Weiss's neck very slowly, she allowed her eyes to flutter shut, enjoying kiss after kiss – some ending with a small flick of her tongue against Weiss's soft skin. Anything she could do, she would. She loved every second.

When she was starting to get to the bottom of her jawline, Neon edged away, whispering, "And hey, maybe the present can get fucked, as well …  but in the fun way."

A shiver ran down Weiss's spine, and all the way past her tailbone to somewhere she had not been expecting. She opened her mouth to say, "Thanks, but no thanks," or "Not right now, I'm not ready yet." But instead, what came out was…

"Maybe it can."

And with a growing smirk, Neon then edged back from her neck, and instead went forward to take her lips instead. Hands right away wrapped themselves around her, one resting on her shoulder while the other held her lower back, lips kneading gently. A slow and gentle pace at first, but one that began to grow more intense with each passing second. After the initial squeak of surprise, Weiss began to return the kiss, and then did so feverishly, her own fingertips gouging into Neon's back through the thin material of her tank top. Though she hadn't wanted to admit it or think about it before, she was definitely physically attractive beyond just a cute face and an ability to flirt. Soft, palmable breasts and a toned physique, supple skin… despite her previous misgivings, she was damned lucky to be there with her.

And it seemed Neon's mind was on the particular activity that the phrase 'get fucked' implied. That much was becoming more obvious as her mouth was falling even more open, feeling her tongue sliding in toward Weiss's. Hands were starting to clutch that bit more, as she could feel herself pulling at Weiss's top instinctively.

"Mhhh," Weiss moaned as she felt Neon's attentions spiking, her hands exploring. It felt so good to be wanted again after a month of nothing; she had no idea her body had become so dependent on this! Raising her arms, she allowed Neon to do as she might.

Sooner than might be normal for a second date, s he pulled Weiss's top up and over her body, throwing it to one side. And then repeated the action with her own top as well. Both in their bras, her hands went back to the shoulders and back for a little longer, savoring the kiss as much as she could without the need to strip even further. Gradually, Neon could feel herself falling back on the sofa, and pulling Weiss with her on top of her. 

Not that she opposed one bit. Weiss followed the leader, crawling up into Neon's lap and sighing at the familiar feeling of resting atop a warm body. Of course, she was more used to something pressing up into her at this point, but she tried not to think too deeply about that. For now, there were only lips, and soft skin, and fingers entwining in each other's hair.

Neon was allowing herself to slightly smile in the midst of it all. And when one particular kiss lead to Weiss's tongue tracing across hers, she even allowed herself to purr into the kiss, lightly running her nails over Weiss's back.

"Hhhahhh," Weiss let out as she pulled back slightly. "Wow, that's… ooh." She wasn't sure what she had been about to say, but it was something to the effect of a positive review. How could this be so familiar, and yet so different? Yang had never once "purred" in all their time together!

But no, this wasn't about Yang; she wasn't going to think about her right now. Not when Neon was so appealing, and available. One of her hands raised to tease across Neon's soft cleavage.

"Hmmmm…" Feeling the soft hands beginning to grasp at her rather modest cleavage was winding her up far faster than she liked to admit – and from what she had heard from Weiss, she didn't have any experience! Instinctively, she felt her legs slowly drawing themselves back, until they had begun to wrap around her, locking Weiss on top of her. They really were going for it tonight!

In fact, Weiss was going for a lot more. Her hands flew back behind Neon and performed reasonably familiar actions; she nipped the bra free and tossed it over the back of the couch carelessly — and froze.

Letting their lips part, Neon took a moment to allow Weiss ’ s heated, disbelieving eyes to gaze down at what was just revealed. Something told her Weiss would be surprised: the modest breasts were one thing, but a particular aspect featured on the peaks of them was another.  _ Piercings. _ The nipple on the right featured a couple of stars on either side of the stud, and the one on the left had moons. Neon laid back, shuffling herself below Weiss to get comfortable, deliberately pulling Weiss's hips closer with her legs.

"Like what you see?"

A shaky laugh fell from Weiss as she gazed down at them, then a gulp. This was something she had only heard about before — and assumed a woman let this happen to herself only when she had become a "coked-out whore", as her father would have put it. But here was Neon, extreme as her public persona could be, yet still a warm, fun-loving girl whose idea of a good time was curling up on the couch with  _ Mean Girls _ and Chinese…

"Didn't… that hurt?" Weiss found herself asking automatically as one of her hands drifted closer to the metal studs, shrinking back before they could make contact.

"At the time, yeah. But this was a year or two ago. Now they're fine." And even as Weiss began to edge a little closer to the studs, she bit her lip momentarily, breath quickening a little. Then she explained: "But uh, it makes them hella sensitive."

"Really? It does?" She still could never imagine letting this be done to her own body, but had to admit… the effect was interesting, visually. Tracing her fingernail around the areola, she finally whispered, "Can I touch them directly, or… would that hurt again? Honestly, I don't know anything about this, I'm not just trying to sound dumb…"

Neon only smiled, and quickly craned her head up to press a quick kiss against her lips. As she backed off, she smiled. "Go right ahead, just excuse me if I moan like a cat in heat."

Blushing to her roots, Weiss did in fact press a fingertip against Neon's nipple. It gave just as easily as her own or Yang's, but there was also a firmness behind it. The barbell shot through the flesh could be _felt_ as easily as its ends could be seen! As much as it freaked her out, there was also a level of intrigue… why had she done it? How much more sensitive were they now? Each time Weiss's fingertip circled it, Neon’s head leant fully backward, and her breathing was only starting to get heavier. It must be sensitive for her to react this quickly! Yang took forever to get going with these types of notions, yet Neon looked just about ready for anything with a few minimal circles. Maybe that was why she'd done it in the first place, or maybe just for aesthetic reasons and this was a fringe benefit.

Allowing her hands to rest on Weiss's hips, she was ready to return the favor. She just needed the right moment. Of course, Weiss was entirely focused on the task at hand. Literally at her hand; she was gripping the meat of the breast now, moving it around in a slow ellipse and watching the studs catch the light.

"Does… this feel good, too?" she whispered.

"Hmm… oh yeah," she moaned outwardly, biting her lip in order to try and quell anything further. She could get used to this, definitely.

But below, another action was budding: one that she expected no consequences for, and yet it seemed the right thing to do, given that Weiss was giving her this much pleasure. As she continued, she drew one of her hands back, before sinking it downward, fingers sliding under Weiss's waistband.

The reaction was instantaneous; Weiss drew her hand back, sitting bolt upright. She didn't try to stop Neon, but she also looked beyond frightened of the further possibilities that were likely to follow where Neon's hand had begun to tease. Where Neon's eyes had fallen shut before, they snapped open as Weiss sat herself upright. She completely froze, looking up at the shocked expression of her face. And then she looked to where her hand was, how it had just slipped under her waistband. Quickly, she drew that backward, instinctively beginning to cover herself. 

"Did… I do something wrong?"

"What? No! You didn't… well… nothing  _ wrong, _ exactly." Her face was quickly turning redder, and not for a good reason this time. "Sorry, I just didn't expect… God, that sounds stupid already."

Neon shook her head, starting to shuffle herself backwards to shift herself out from under Weiss's body. And straight away she sat up as well, and placed her hands on her shoulder. "No, no way. We work to meet each other's pace, okay? If you're not ready, then we won't move ahead."

"M-maybe I should just go." Nodding to herself, she drew backward and began to stand up, looking around in a daze for her shirt. Why couldn't she see it? Why was the whole room blurry?

"Whoa whoa, no you don't." Springing to her feet, she placed her hands-on Weiss's bare shoulders a moment, and gently eased her back down onto the sofa. Once she was there, she was the one that went around the room and picked up the two shirts. Straight away, she handed Weiss hers, and then slid hers back on again, ignoring the bra Weiss had so quickly discarded.

"Not until I call you a cab and know you're okay." And she was already getting out her phone.

“ Wait, y-you don ’ t have to do that yet …”  Pushing a hand into her face, she sighed as her body finally began to suppress the reaction.  “I’ m sorry. Damn it, Neon, I didn ’ t mean to flip out the way I did …  you didn ’ t do anything wrong. I ’ m just not used to drunken make-out sessions, and not used to them possibly …  leading …  elsewhere. ”

It landed on deaf ears for a few minutes, just as Neon was instructing whoever was on the other line. After which she then hung it up, and sat herself down by Weiss's side again. There were very few words, only a quick leaning forward to press her lips against her cheek.

"Hey," she whispered, reaching to hold Weiss's hand in hers. "It's fine.  _ You're  _ fine. Next time we try this, let's leave alcohol out of it and see how far we get, okay?"

Of course, now the tears were welling up and sliding down her cheeks. She had really messed up; now she had to leave, there was no choice left in the matter. Even if she called the cab off, it would be inconvenient for the worker, and for Neon to have gone through all the trouble. She had literally ruined both of their night without even trying.

"I'm such a mess," she choked out. "Are you sure you want to waste your time on somebody like me? Obviously I'm… I have some issues, and there's no reason you should have to put up with-"

Neon ignored the words, and instead pressed her lips against those that were protesting. It was a lingering moment, just enough to make her stop talking. Like she intended. Parting their lips again, she kept a hold of Weiss's hand still, gently stroking it with her thumb as she looked into the blue eyes. 

"I'm not 'putting up with it', I'm getting to know you, girl. Just like I said I would. And that means learning the good and the bad. We  _ all _ got issues, but you're good, okay? Super promise."

Blue eyes were wide and staring. "Wow… you're really incredible, you know that?" The hour was too late; there were probably only ten or twenty minutes until the cab got there, but she wanted to do something for Neon that would prove to her that she saw her now. That she could perceive the beauty inside of her much clearer than when they first met.

"Next time," Weiss whispered, running her hand into her hair and gripping tightly. "No wine, and just you and me… and I won't chicken out. I promise."

And Neon only purred again, grinning back at her as she allowed herself to peck Weiss on the cheek. She managed to keep the blushing and smirking to a minimum this time.

"Can't wait."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the long waits between chapters. I really am struggling lately with personal life issues and... ah you've heard it before. I'm going to try to get more fics up in the new year though; for now, I'm going to try extra hard to get more chapters of this one posted before Christmas. Love you guys, thanks for sticking with us!


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: Bumbleby chap. Depression, drug use, foot massage, breath play, sex without condom, suicidal thoughts.

**=Chapter 29**

The sad truth was, while Weiss's life was beginning to get back on track and head new directions, Yang's was steadily on a decline. Nowhere in the security field was hiring, and what was worse, Winter had made sure that Yang didn't even have a reference, so that was off the cards. Any other decent jobs were taken, including the electrician company Sun worked for and Blake’s office, and there was only one place she could go. 

Sun managed to score her a job at his family's local restaurant doing two things she hated most; waitressing and dishwashing. It put money in the bank, but did nothing to fill the void she was feeling in herself, which was steadily getting worse and worse, despite her words to Blake.

As she stepped in the door after a five-hour shift, Sun and Blake were curled up together on the sofa; Sun watching a clearly 'nothing else on TV' cop chase program, while Blake was deep into a book. But as soon as he heard the door open, he called up, "Hey, blondie! How was work at the uncle's place? Busy?"

But there was no answer. All that came was clear footsteps heading up the stairs, and then a door closing behind her. No answer back to the two in the living room, no nothing. Blake sighed, pressing her index finger between the pages as she let the book fall closed. 

"She's getting worse."

"Hmm?" Sun tilted his head, turning the volume down on the TV slowly, just enough to keep Yang from hearing them, but so he could better listen to Blake. "Worse? What do you mean?"

"I mean, she's always in a mood lately. Sometimes when she's home and she's high, and we can watch some Netflix and just be ourselves, everything's okay for a little while. But every time I come home or she comes home, I can instantly tell that she just… hates it here. Hates me, or the city, or…" Shrugging, she trailed off as she stared down at the coffee table, unsure of whether or not she had any more to say on the subject.

"So she's like this after work all the time? Or just… literally all the time?" Sun asked.

"Yes." When he just kept staring, she shrugged and added, "Well, she's always like that after work, unless it's payday… and sometimes like that even if it's her day off. Honestly, I don't know what to do."

"Oh…" Sun was beginning to realize what Blake meant; not that he particularly liked the thought of where it was going. But, it needed to be asked. "So you think maybe she's… Ill? Like, worse than we thought?" All Blake could do in reply was sigh and shrug again, but she certainly did nothing to refute his theory. As he looked up toward the ceiling, he appeared just as worried as she did. He of course had even less of a right to talk about Yang's personal life, having very little experience with her in general, but he could put his input in. "Constantly sad, no motivation, drinking, drugs… It all fits."

"Wish it didn't, but…" Her hand came up and ran through her bangs as she glanced in the same direction Sun did before lowering her gaze to his face. "What should we do? We can't just let her feel like shit all the time…"

"I don't know… Unless she goes to the doctor herself, I really don't know what to do," he said sadly, before beginning to shift himself lightly again, sliding his legs so they were off the sofa and on the floor instead. "But she knows you better than me. Maybe it's because I'm here she's being like this? She'll open up to you more if you two are one-on-one."

"Maybe." But what she did was reach out to pull him closer, pressing her lips against his cheek. "But I didn't want to run you off this early in the night; I was hoping we could all hang again. Guess not if she's in a grumpy mood, though…"

"Her health is way more important, okay?" He was already starting to get up from the sofa, stretching his back a moment to delay his leave however he could. "Besides, it's getting you down, too. And I don't want that."

That brought a reluctant smile to Blake's face as she joined him in standing. "So you want to fix her to fix me, huh? Guess I shouldn't complain about that…" Then she drew him into a tight hug. "By the way… thanks for, um. You know - an hour ago. Really drove me wild."

Unable to help himself, he both grinned and blushed terribly, running a hand through his gelled-up hair once again. "I'll make a note next time, you like it hard against the wall, got it."

"Damn right." Then she kissed him hard and long as they walked toward the door. "Okay… see you tomorrow, I guess."

"Unless you wanted to come to my place tomorrow? If she needs time to herself?" he asked in a more hushed tone as he opened the door, getting ready to leave.

"You know what?" she responded with a contemplative look on her face. "That may just have to happen…"

Now that Sun was on his way back to his own house, Blake trudged up the stairs toward Yang's room. Part of her was dreading this encounter, but she tried not to let that portion of her brain win out over her concern for Yang's well-being. In addition to that, just because Yang had seemed tired didn't mean she was in a bad mood, right? Not necessarily, anyway.

"Yang?" she asked as she knocked on her door. "Um… you okay in there?"

The other side of the door, Yang was already half way through her first bowl for the evening, lying on her bed and doing nothing else apart from stare out into nothing. She had been about to put her phone on charge at least, or get changed out of her uniform; but all seemed to have been forgotten. Although she did blow out the smoke she had just inhaled, calling out to her, "Come on in."

Nudging the door open, Blake blinked at the cloud she ran into once inside. "Oh, so that's how it goes now, huh? Punch the clock, hit the pipe?"

"Please don't." Yang groaned, inhaling yet more smoke and blowing it the other side of the room rather than toward Blake. Allowing herself to relax right back against the wall, she sighed to herself, "Today was a shitty day… of a shitty week… of a shitty month."

"Wow, I'm glad you're so happy living with me. Really says a lot about my winning personality." There was an undeniable bitterness in Blake's words now; she wanted to help Yang, but being told that she wasn't enough stung no matter how much she tried to ignore the pain.

Yang closed her eyes, looking away from Blake as she sighed once more. Yet again, the wrong thing. Yet again she was treading on everyone's toes, ruining everyone's happiness just because she herself couldn't be happy. She could already feel the tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

All she could slip out was another overused word this past month. "Sorry."

That easily, Blake's sourness evaporated. She had meant what she said, but at the same time she also understood that Yang's sadness went so deep that it was going to take more than her being chummy to shake her from that funk.

"Forget it," she sighed as she came over and sat on the bed next to Yang's legs, putting her hand on one shin. "I shouldn't be so sensitive and take things personally when you obviously didn't have the greatest time at work. You… wanna talk about it?"

Yang just continued to look down and sullen, placing the pipe down in the ashtray once sure it was done with. Where on earth could she start? Wiping away a stray tear, she sniffed. "Everything is just so dull. I don't know what I can do to make myself feel… I dunno; happy, sad,  _ something  _ other than… this."

"These things take time," Blake told her as gently as she could. "Tell you what – can I run you a hot bubble bath? Relax those sore muscles. At least that might help your body feel better…"

Her eyes had only just looked back in her direction again, eyebrows furrowing in sadness. Of all the things, she didn't understand why Blake was being so nice. Not when she was here, doing the bare minimum and taking up space.

"I don't deserve it," she said quietly, looking toward the ground again instead.

Tears threatened in Blake's eyes now. Even though she still felt disappointment that her friend didn't think she was enough to change her mood, she was beginning to understand that it wasn't about her. This was something only Yang could conquer. That was so bleak and hopeless, but it was no use denying the reality.

"Is there really nothing I can do?" she finally whispered.

It barely registered to Yang. Whenever she found herself staring outward, it was at nothing. Even the things she used to enjoy were no longer fun anymore. Like video games, her bike, even stupid little tasks she enjoyed like working out. Each day was just doing one thing: surviving. And it was taking its toll on her, just as it was to her best friend. 

Beyond all reasoning, she found herself tilting in Blake's direction, wrapping her arms around her and hugging around her. It was loosely, not all too heart felt perhaps; but it seemed she needed the contact. And no doubt after weeks of Yang not touching Blake, it was welcome. And she melted into the touch, shivering as a reflex at how unfamiliar it felt now. Her face smashed into Yang's neck, and a few hiccupping sobs came out, as silent as she was able to make them.

But she knew. Yang may have been numb, but she wasn't stupid. She could tell Blake was upset, that she needed to know things were going okay. Even if they weren't. It was one of the traits she was always taught growing up that she never quite let go, the unnecessary masking of emotions to try and keep a partner happy. Particularly a female partner. They remained huddled for a few minutes, Yang gently starting to rub Blake's arms to try and ease the sobbing down. She never said a word, never moved another muscle. She just lay and bore it.

Then Blake pulled away at last and said, "Sorry for getting all emo on you, that… I didn't mean for that to happen." Wiping at her eyes, she then smiled very slightly and said, "I know how I can make it up to you; take off your socks."

"Huh?" Yang tilted her head. What could Blake be thinking in this situation? Still, she did as she was asked, reaching down to take her socks off her feet and toss them aside. She owed Blake that.

Blake let out a slightly offended chuckle, wincing. "Whoo! Dude, what did I tell you about using lotion - and body spray in your work shoes?" 

But she was smiling as she got up to run to the bathroom. Within a few minutes, she was back with a wet washcloth and some small bottle of lotion. There was a look of shaky hope in her eyes, teeth biting her lip.

Yang hadn't responded. All she did was watch what Blake was doing, tilting her head questioningly. Somehow she was getting the feeling she knew what was coming, that Blake was going to give her feet some kindness and attention. But did she deserve that? Did she really deserve that love and care?

"Back when I was working crappy food service jobs," Blake began as she scrubbed gently at Yang's feet with the cloth, "I remember every freaking day I came home, all I wanted was for somebody to either run me a hot bath or massage my aching feet. Or occasionally, my aching neck. You did that for me a couple times, I remember… but I only started working toward the end there. So not that many."

"Oh, yeah… I remember." As she watched Blake take care of her, it brought back the memories of their past. She remembered one particular evening they both managed to squeeze in together, while she massaged Blake's aching shoulders. But like she said; not that many times. Probably not as much as she needed. It wasn't the intent, and Yang knew it; but another wave of guilt flew over her.

"Sorry I didn't do it as much as I should have. Could have, if I didn’t run off."

"That wasn't what I said," Blake corrected with a weary smile as she switched. "Just… you know, what happened, happened. We broke up. Can't change the past." Her smile was soft, gentle - almost like one would use to coax a small toddler to try eating vegetables. "But I can pay you back for the times you did."

And as Blake began to knead her fingers into the flesh, she could feel the swelling already beginning to ease. It hurt, but the relief that followed was more than enough to make up for that. It was good, excellent even. She even found a soft moan of mingling pleasure falling from her mouth.

Nodding her approval at Yang's reaction, she laid the cloth aside and switched to the lotion. A pleasant floral scent of some kind began to mingle with the lingering smoke on the air the minute the bottle was open. "You were good to me. I know you might not remember it that way, but… I don't want you looking back on how we were together with some kind of dark filter. It was never 'bad', not really."

"Other than me being a man, I guess." Even if the comment seemed to be on the darker side, Yang forced herself to chuckle, pushing through the horrendous mood as best she could. "I bet I could do a better job now, softer hands and skin and all."

"Definitely softer." As she spoke, she kneaded her thumbs against the partially knotted muscles in the arch of her foot, really digging in now whereas before she had just been scrubbing the skin. "There… were signs, you know. Not ones I saw before you told me, but that I figured out after."

Even if it was buried right in the past, in the midst of relaxing, she tilted her head. She was always curious of that, how some people seemed to just know, and how Blake took the knowledge so easy. "There were?"

Relieved at some emotion from Yang other than apathy or bitterness, Blake's smile grew very marginally. "Mmhmm. Like, ways you would laugh, or just… things you liked doing, were interested in. Little things. I mean, of course at that time I thought you were a straight guy, so thinking 'He's so much like a girl'…. I felt guilty about it at first. Because normally, that's a mean thing to say. To most people. So when you came out as trans, there was this tiny voice in the back of my head going, 'I KNEW it!' Which I also felt guilty about, since that wasn't the point…" 

Running a hand through her hair as she flexed her toes back and forth after Blake's gentle movements, Yang found a softer smile actually sticking to her face this time. It was small, but it was there. Better than nothing.

"I guess that's better than having no signs… I always liked your heels too much for a start."

Laughing, Blake glided her fingers up to the wiggling toes and began to pull upward slightly, digging in and massaging along with the motion. "Well, I was too surprised at the time to admit it, but… there were a few pairs that looked better on you than on me. Even if they were a size too small."

"Yeah, finding shoes I like and shoes that will fit is… still a struggle." She chuckled, flexing the toes one more time once she was done, and then allowing her to move on to the next foot. "Just… gotta ask you one thing. Did you ever feel sad? Like… feel like you made me into a girl or something? Or feel weird that one minute you're straight next you're possibly bisexual?"

"What? No, not- Yang…" Pausing in her actions, she looked her dead in the eyes. "When I started noticing… like, you trying on my shoes more than one time for shits and giggles, I started figuring it out a little, but at first I was just really confused. Still, I kept my mouth shut; I didn't confront you, didn't push you one way or the other. Like…" While the words volleyed back in forth in her head, Blake’s thumbs started up again, gouging up from heel to toe and pressing in hard, eased in their efforts by the lotion. "My plan ended up being, just let you explore what you wanted to explore, and not interfere. Even though I was going crazy trying to figure out if you were gay, or trans, or a cross-dresser… like, it was  _ you  _ who had to go through the thing. What right did I have to either push you to discover yourself faster  _ or  _ to ask you not to?"

Forced to look back into the amber eyes, even when she was softly sighing at the motions again, Yang’s eyebrows began to furrow. She assumed she was being sneaky before, or that Blake had never really caught her trying out feminine things until she fully embraced being trans. But she had known, and had let her discover. That was more than anyone else would have done, all the boyfriends, the few girls before Blake, even Weiss, if they had been together back then.

More unintentional guilt. It always led there, even though she hated it. Still, she forced herself to respond positively: "You deserve so much better from me, you know that? And you did back then, too."

This was the most positive sign she had received from Yang in a long time. She didn't want to push it, didn't want to goad her or ask for more. So instead, she raised the foot up and placed a brief kiss on the tip of her big toe. "You're fine. I mean, I hate that you're in a funk sometimes, but it's the funk I hate. Not who's having it."

She smiled again softly. Blake was being so kind to her, and she always was, always would be. But what did Yang give her in return? Grief. It may not be today, but she would be back in her depressive mood come tomorrow, and the day after. And she knew it. She knew Blake didn't deserve this, knew she needed her to be better, yet could never convince herself to get better. She could only think that she didn't deserve Blake's current attentions.

And then back to that encounter again, where she asked Blake to hurt her. That she deserved, some pain. Something to teach her a lesson. It was all her brain could convince itself it needed, even if a part of her knew it was fucked up.

"There," Blake gusted at last, running her hands up and down Yang's shins. "Any better? Any worse? Do you still have sensation in your legs at all?"

Snapping herself out of the dazed gaze again, she finally realized that Blake's hands were moving up and down her legs. And she tried to clear the air again, forcing a laugh. "No, you're gonna have to call it, I think I've lost them. Get me a wheelchair."

Pursing her lips, she swatted the nearest leg before crawling up to sit next to Yang. "Jerk. Pass me the pipe, would you?"

"Huh? Oh, right." As she asked, she passed over the smoldering pipe. There wasn't much remaining, but enough for Blake to take a hit, if that were her intention.

"Thanks." Blake did take a long drag, then blew out as she passed it back. "That's cached. And don't smoke anymore tonight, okay? For me?" For good measure, she hit her old friend with the sad puppy eyes.

Yang's own were slightly saddened by that remark. As much as she wanted to answer  “yes”  without a problem, mind-altering substances served as her only distraction. She knew as soon as Blake would leave, if she wasn’t drunk or high, her thoughts would come back. 

But she couldn't say no to that face, so she sighed, "Okay, fine… As long as I can have a beer later."

Rolling her eyes, she draped an arm over Yang's shoulders. "Fine, I guess." Then she kissed her cheek. "We can split one. Fair? I think it sounds very fair."

Leaning forward and pressing her forehead against Blake's, she allowed her hands to rest on her hips. Again, couldn't argue with that. "Whatever you say."

"That's true. Whatever I say." The grin said that she was joking, even if her words didn't. And a moment later, when Blake leaned in to graze Yang's lips with a soft kiss, she was still wearing that same grin draped around her, cradling both of them in its glow.

But almost a minute after they left, Yang allowed herself to lean forward again, pressing her lips up against those of her friend's. It had been nearly two weeks without this contact, without the closeness of Blake's body against her own. Blake had tried before, but Yang just wasn't in the mood, or pushed her away one way or another. But now, she allowed herself to kiss, allowed her hips to slightly push up against her friend's own. Maybe she was on the mend.

So eager was Blake to have this again, to return to where they had once danced and writhed and basked in the warmth of finding each other once more, that she threw herself back into the kiss, hands clutching at Yang's back as she twisted their legs together. All she wanted was more of this, more kissing, more affection. More Yang being Yang, instead of the unrelatable shell she had allowed herself to become lately.

Gradually, she pulled Blake down into her as she sank into the bed, leaving her on top as they continued to kiss. It was still somewhat out of character, the old Yang would have rolled over so Blake ended up below, or made a repeat of that first night where she ended up with a leg on her shoulder. But this time, she was being more submissive, taking a back seat and allowing Blake to lead.

On the mend was one thing, but there was an ulterior motive. This way, if Yang was the submissive one of the two, she'd be far easier to punish. Not that Blake was in any kind of condition to notice. No, her mind was entirely centered on Yang, on tasting her, experiencing her body and hopefully connecting to her emotionally. Starting with her lips, but working her way into other areas as soon as she could manage.

But that would be pretty soon. With each movement of Blake's hips against her own, she could feel her beginning to grind against growing hardness. And she wanted it. She guiltily wanted to be inside Blake again, even if it was just to vent her heartbreak. That was all sex seemed to be now; not an enjoyable activity as it once was, just a way to rapidly purge her anger and pain and feel something different for a change. It wasn't something she could explain to Blake, and frankly, she thought there was no need. She just continued to kiss, and went to grasp her hands, pulling them up by her neck.

"Mmmhh," Blake groaned needily, hungrily, slamming her hips down against the rising flesh beneath her own with increasing frequency. How could they have gone so long without? Sure, she had Sun in the meantime, but Yang was not Sun – and Yang didn’t have anyone else. Fingertips dug into the flesh around Yang's neck as their bodies began to find a rhythm, inflaming Yang's desires enough that it spread to the girl above her.

As they parted their lips a little bit, Yang managed to speak between gasps. There was the rule they still had to abide by, the one that Yang would respect no matter what. "Sun is out of the house, right?"

All Blake did was nod before she reengaged her again, too ready and pent up to bother with words that weren't necessary. Sun was gone; the girls could play. And they did. Rather than undress fully, Yang was unzipping her trousers, pushing them and her undies down just enough for Blake to do as she wanted. Ride as she wanted. She wanted her to be in control tonight, or more, _needed_ her to be. However, there was another shaky request.

"Don't… don't let go of my neck, okay?"

"What?" she asked breathlessly as she pulled back from Yang's mouth. Misunderstanding for the moment, she trailed her lips down her jaw to her neck, licking and pressing them inward here and there.

Instantly Yang corrected her, hands grasping hers again as she pulled them back up to her neck instead. The intention was clear enough. She wanted her to hold it instead of kiss. Before, she was always a sucker for kissing and biting of a neck, and yet here she was trying to prevent it happening. It made no sense .  But the rock hard exposed arousal said otherwise. Maybe this was something she had discovered she was into since their break-up.

Amber eyes narrowed as she felt her hands being guided where Yang wanted them, and she whispered, "Wait… what is it… you want me to do?" But she already knew. She just couldn't quite accept this was their new plan to get Yang off. Obviously, she had heard of "breath play" before, but never had any reason to look into it beyond that.

Once sure Blake's hands weren't going to move, her hands went to her hips instead. As best she could, she tried to push her shorts down and away, to eradicate the last barrier between their sexes uniting. This would be something she had never tried before, and had only heard a few stories of. Some liked it, others hated it and freaked out. Yang herself never wanted to try this but it seemed a more painful thing to do, a way to punish her. Just what she wanted. 

"Choke me."

A shadow passed over Blake's features, clear and distinct. But the feeling of the hard, insistent girth now pressing against her now-trimmed hairs was enough to cut off any protests; this was obviously something that excited Yang. Who was she to judge?

"Oh, I… okay… like this?" Her hands slid inward a few fractions of an inch, resting up against her neck without truly squeezing yet. As Yang swallowed, Blake could easily feel it. 

That wasn't enough at all, she could still breathe quite clearly and easily. She needed it far tighter. But there was something else keeping her back on earth that she could tell Blake wanted. Her rock-hard arousal that Blake's lips had often encircled, grinding across it unintentionally. She could tell Blake wanted it inside, and who was she to take that from her even if she didn't feel she deserved the pleasure?

As she pushed her hips against Blake's to show her that intention, she also demanded. "Harder."

"Mmmhh…" Still nervous about the idea, Blake did as she was asked. She began to squeeze Yang's throat, gliding her wetness up and down the shaft as she did so. Something about it was… exciting, though she despised the very idea of it being like that for her. Even if it was for Yang.

"Hmm…" Now breathing was starting to become difficult. Not impossible, not yet. But there was a noticeable difference. That would do for now, while she continued to push her hips up against Blake's again and again, continuing to glide her cock up against wetness. From the angle they were at, she couldn't quite position herself to enter, not when Blake was only going up so far. But after a few more gyrations, tongue wetting her suddenly-dry lips, Blake spoke up. 

"Are… you ready to fuck me?" It was bolder language and more than she usually spoke in these situations. But with her cutting off Yang's air supply, she had to be sure that she was still paying attention - and still interested.

Shaky breaths fell when she was asked that question. Was she indeed? Blake still wasn't holding her as tightly as she'd have liked, but she was preparing herself to thrust inside, to let Yang take her. And yet again unprotected. As she nodded, she pressed her hands on Blake's again, deliberately squeezing them tighter to give her the message.

This was the most frightening thing yet. She didn't want to be choking Yang in the first place - did she have to do it harder? However, she had already agreed to try such an unusual kink, and there was no turning back. As she raised her hips forward to line Yang's tip up with her entrance, feeling it just barely gliding along her folds, she tightened her grip on the strong sinew of her throat.

There was a small hum of satisfaction once Blake  squeezed harder. That was what she wanted, exactly. Now she couldn't breathe at all, any attempts were instantly stopped by the tightened hand. It hurt, forced her heart to pump faster and faster, as if feeling Blake's entrance slide around her member wasn't enough to do that anyway. Beyond all possible reasoning, she found a faint smile forming on her face as she attempted to breathe in again and failed. Why? Why did this appeal to her? What was wrong with her now?

As Blake sank down onto the girth, she watched Yang carefully. The smiling was all well and good - even if worrying. What about her breathing? How long could she go without air? That was something she herself hadn't worried about since she went swimming as a little girl. Now here was Yang asking to be deprived of oxygen during sex, to drift closer to death's door…

The instant the last thought flitted through her mind, Blake completely relaxed her grip. Nothing could make her keep going straight through; Yang needed to breathe at least every now and then.

In that moment she instinctively gasped, eyes snapping open again as she looked up to the amber ones that were staring her down. She looked terrified, even with an arousal buried deep inside her body. Yet Yang could only let out a shaky moan when she got her breath back a small amount. Was it right for her to be pushing Blake into doing this?

The deeper motive was there. As much as she didn't want to admit it, didn't want to say it aloud, there was a horrendous reason why Yang found it so appealing, and in turn why Blake was so scared of it. There really was a possibility it could go on a moment too long. That she could just slip away…

Then Blake was squeezing again. The play clearly made her nervous, but stopping without a valid reason would make her seem weak. Cowardly, and as if she couldn't keep a promise as simple as screwing Yang the way she wanted to be screwed. She wanted to ask so many questions, but they all sounded too harsh, too probing when the only probing that should be going on was already happening.

In the moments Yang was unable to breathe, that same thought was coming back over and over: what if she did slip away? She'd no longer be a burden for Blake, or for Ruby… or anyone, for that matter. She'd be free of the pain, of feeling numb. It was beginning to become more and more appealing.

But when Blake released her again and she gasped, the thoughts were flooded right out of her. No, she couldn't do that. She couldn't put Blake through that pain. If Blake ended up choking her to that point, she would never forgive herself. Even if Yang had asked her to. As selfish as her wish for it was, and how desperate she was wishing it, she allowed her hands to reach up for Blake's again and take them off her. If she was to ever do that, it wouldn't be by someone else's hand. 

In the middle of a moan, she breathed out, "T-That's enough."

"You like that?" Blake asked as she rode Yang hard. Her voice sounded as if she were merely asking the question the usual way; was Yang having fun? Yes or no answer. But her eyes clearly were asking more questions:  _ why  _ did she like that? Why couldn't Yang just enjoy how they were together, enjoy the tightness of her slick inner walls around her throbbing arousal? That was all Blake needed.

Well… from both Yang  _ and  _ Sun. In moments when she was with Yang, she would occasionally forget Sun entirely; that worried her. But she also knew she did the same thing about Yang when she was being intimate with her boyfriend. Fair is fair. Problem with that was, Yang was  _ not  _ someone she was dating. Just a friend with benefits. So why was it sometimes she could be with her and her heart flashed back to that high school girl who thought Yang would be in her life forever? Be the only one who would stay by her side, no matter what happened?

Completely and utterly breathless, Yang nodded as she picked up the pace. It was extremely difficult to think when Blake was riding her. Such actions were enough to take her breath away anyway, why did she feel such an urge to ask that of Blake in the first place? Nothing was making sense. Not her actions, not why Blake stayed, not even why her own sister kept up contact…

But the only thing that was beginning to make sense was the quivering in her legs she could feel again, the sweat on her brow as she started to push up her hips. She was close again, even if she felt she didn't deserve to be. And Blake very clearly wanted it to happen. For Yang to feel something, even if it was only with her body. Maybe a little of that could reach her heart if she didn't give up, didn't stop riding her until they both screamed. So she didn't relent, only pushed herself to her utter limits.

Finally she did. And as her hands fell to Blake's backside again to pull her down against her member, she felt her quivering intensify. Muscles were spasming through her lower body as she yelled out, length throbbing inside Blake's body. Yet again, inadvisable as it was, she released her hot fluid inside Blake's body. And again, they'd forgotten that barrier. But at least she was assured Blake was protected.

Her only hope was that in her brief moment of bliss, Blake finished, as well. Lately because of her fatigue and general mood, she either finished far too soon, or not at all. It had been a while since she was able to return the favor to Blake just as much as she had for her. And that was another factor of her guilt.

But Blake did finish; it had been so long since they last writhed against each other this way that her excitement and the sudden shock of feeling warm fluid inside of her was enough to put her over the edge. It wasn't the strongest, most earth-shattering orgasm of her life, but it was good enough. Comforting and reassuring.

After a few seconds, she slumped down against Yang's body, panting and sweating through her clothes, feeling the length still within her. For a long second, she closed her eyes and imagined she never had to move from there; that she could just hide within this moment for the rest of her life.

But all that came from the partner below her was the same amount of panting. And then a sadder reaction. A sniff. Of course, that wouldn't be the first time Yang had been emotional after a good roll in the hay. Uncommon though it was. 

Blake pressed herself harder against her and kissed her neck tenderly, whispering, "You were so good…"

There was yet another sniff from Yang. She felt her eyes welling up with tears yet again, lip quivering as she tried to hold herself back. But it was useless. Her voice was muffled through the hand she covered her mouth with, but it was enough for Blake to hear.

"W-what's  _ wrong _ with me?"

The girl atop her froze. That was a question she had been asking herself so often lately… but she didn't have any answers. All she could do is kiss her neck again and whisper, "Nothing. Nothing is wrong with you, okay? You're perfectly fine - and… and I'm glad you're here. So glad…"

Yang was trying to choke back any sobs, closing her eyes tightly and keep the tears at bay. But it was no good, they were falling easily. "I don't want this anymore," she choked out, trying to keep the lump in her throat away. "I don't want to feel so numb, so blank. I don't want to keep making you upset or keep crying. I just want to be back to who I was…"

"I know you do. God, I know…" Her heart was breaking, but what could she do? She was just another person. She wanted to run away, to hide from the reality of her old friend's suffering, but she couldn't. Instead, she pulled back to look down at Yang.

The tears rolling down her flushed cheeks were enough to finish her off, if seeing something could literally shatter a heart. The blonde looked literally lost, without a shred of hope left in her world. Even these past weeks, she had at least looked satisfied after they slept together, even if not exactly "happy". Now nothing, up to and including climaxing inside of her, was enough to shift her from the depths of despair.

"Yang… I'm scared for you. Really scared. Isn't there anything I can do for you? I'm so out of ideas, but I want to help so bad…"

But it seemed hopeless. As she shifted her body to at least slip herself out of Blake's body again, there was a slight sigh when the cold air was hitting it again. But that was it. Apart from that, she was no different. Still crying, still clearly without hope. Still with her spirit completely broken. She gradually shook her head, sniffing again.

"I don't know what you can do. How can I ask you to help me, when I don't know how to help myself?"

"Then maybe…" Blake finally slid from on top of her friend's body to one side and reached down to tuck her gently back into her slacks, zipping them closed again. For once, she did absolutely nothing lewd or appreciative of the part itself; just put it away, then reached up and wrapped her arm around her stomach. Her stomach clenched as she braced for impact. This was going to be awful. "Maybe you… should… talk to someone else? A lady I work with, Velvet… she went through grief counseling when her sister passed away. I'll get the name of who she went to and pass it on to you. I mean, can't hurt to try it once, right?"

"Yeah… Yeah I guess." This was the first time she was remotely admitting that she needed help. And although it was reluctant, it was more than the whole two months. Looking downward in a daze once again, she began to think of that possibility. Counselling. It was a familiar road, one she had many hours of when she transitioned. Of all the things that would push her back to going, it was an ex.

That made her breathe outwardly. "How pathetic is this, though? Me maybe being…  _ Depressed _ with a capital D  because of a breakup."

"Pretty pathetic," Blake told her with a weak smile. "But then again, how pathetic is it that the moment you're back in my life, I'm on top of you like nothing ever happened? Seriously, I have no room to judge."

It wasn't exactly the same, but Yang wasn't about to argue against her. She felt too weak, and was always getting weaker by the minute. That seemed to be the trend, for her to have these briefly relaxed moments after sex and then sink back into the sullen state she was in before. Blake was offering help. Like she was last time; only now, Yang had agreed to try.

As she nodded and huddled into Blake's side, the only question remaining was a simple one: would she be brave enough to stick to that agreement? Or would her pride in her own ability and denial of circumstances be her downfall?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops! Yang and Blake should be more careful, shouldn't they? Well if I don't see you guys before the end of the year, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Hope you all have a great one~!


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: Neon/Weiss hints. Also Neptune in this chapter.   
> Bumbleby. VERY harsh argument.

**=Chapter 30**

Neptune was persistent. That could be one way someone would describe him if they were to see him where he currently stood, outside one of the smaller sushi restaurants in the city. It took him a while to get there since Nashville wasn't his home town, but he'd made sure to schedule his day of album signings so he had time to spare for lunch. And even made sure to wear a hat and sunglasses to hide his identity.

And why? In the hopes of meeting Weiss Schnee once again to talk about the upcoming Beach Fest. At least, that's what he told people. There was really more motive than that, which was more obvious if anyone caught him holding the single rose he'd bought specially. White, of course, to match her whole “purity” theme. Nervously adjusting his jacket again, he anxiously looked down the street to try and catch a glimpse of her.

Unaware that she was approaching from behind.

"Who's this loser?" a voice said from over his shoulder. "Look at him, standing around outside in sunglasses. Almost like he thinks he's some kind of rock star."

The sudden voice made him almost leap out his skin, quickly spinning around to face her. But soon that nervous smile turned into a smug grin as he tilted his head. "And who's this pipsqueak? Gosh, she seems like a know-it-all, huh?"

"Maybe she  _ does  _ know it all." The pipsqueak in question was clad in a light, airy yellow sundress and a straw hat, with yellow purse and shoes to match; something that didn't really suit her usual aesthetic, but didn't look bad on her at all. Her hip was out to one side with her hand perched on it, a vague smirk on her lips. "Hi."

"We meet again, Snow Angel." He smirked right back at her. Although, that smirk didn't take long to turn into a softer smile when he brought out the hand he'd hastily hidden behind him, the one with the white rose. Time to put his plan into action. "I totally found this like, on my way here. And it reminded me of you, so I totally picked it myself. One hundred percent."

"Oh, totally," Weiss laughed, taking it from him. "And where's the pocketknife that perfectly clipped the bottom of it in this diagonal fashion?" Her other hand waved to demonstrate the remarkably clean cut, like a game show hostess revealing a prize.

"Are you crazy?! You can't carry a deadly weapon like that in public! A knife is so much more dangerous than a gun!" But he laughed regardless, handing it over to her eventually, before gesturing a hand toward the main door. "Shall we, my lovely assistant?"

One of her eyebrows raised. "Oh, you are definitely the assistant. I am the queen." However, she did take his arm for her to lead her into the establishment. Some niceties had to be observed.

The place seemed to be an average sushi restaurant. There were lots of stools situated around a long conveyor belt that led around the restaurant itself, along with a few booths for those who didn’t want to serve themselves in that style. Instinct told him to choose the booth since it was secluded; less chance of them being noticed. But Weiss knew the area better than him. 

"Alright then, queeny. Where do we sit?"

"Gentleman's choice," she told him casually. But she looked very bemused at the entire situation. Inordinately bemused.

"Oh, I'm gentle, am I?" That was exaggerated with a sly wink and a smirk. Foolishly, however, he'd completely forgotten that would be invisible behind the glasses. But in the end, that instinct took over. "Let's go for a booth. Never been to a sushi place before, but it'll be less obvious, right?"

Weiss's steps hesitated as she approached the booth in the corner, and a woman nearly ran into her from thinking the way would be clear once Weiss had moved along. "You've… never had sushi before? Are you sure this is what you want? I mean, we could find somewhere else…"

"No! No no, god, no!" he quickly responded, sitting down on one side as he slid into the booth, holding his hand out and waving to dismiss those concerns. "Hell no, I mean, no I've never had it before but, that doesn't mean I don't wanna try! Y'know me, I love new experiences."

"Oh, yes," she laughed sarcastically as she dropped into the booth. "In our forty years of friendship, I've come to know that above all else, Neptune Vasilias is adventurous."

"Hey cut that out, I don't wanna feel old yet." But regardless, Neptune seemed to be enjoying the banter. First thing was first, he took one of the nearby menus, looking through the various categories and descriptions. If anything, it served as a needed distraction. Though he was normally so confident, he actually hadn't a clue where to start with Weiss.

"So… uh, I saw you on SNL." It was a better place than any. "I watched it. Was pretty awesome, you were really funny. That gag with you licking the donut! Man, you killed me."

"Glad you caught that," Weiss said, glancing down the menu. A knowing look swept over her whille watching his ill-concealed confusion at the menu, but she decided to keep to herself about that for now. "Always nice to have a fan - especially when it's a fan I'm a fan of."

That made his smile grow. So far, so good; he seemed to be doing rather well. "Why, I'm flattered. I'll have to let you know if I'm live on TV at some point, too – oh, I’ll be on Lisa Lavender like you were a few weeks back."

Nodding, she flipped the menu over, arched her eyebrows at some of the prices and options, and made a few mental notes. Then she pulled the glass of complimentary water closer.

"Did you see who the other guest was on that episode? Our fellow Beach Fest-er."

Tilting his head at first, it seemed to have slipped his memory. That was until he gave a small nod as he remembered. "Oh, yeah, Little Miss Laser Raver. Was she really that nuts backstage?"

"Oh, she's definitely… pretty intense," Weiss told him with a small, secret smile. Then she cleared her throat. "But not such a bad person, really. Just hyper and flirty."

"You're telling me! I swear I heard some rumor she was dating two guys from 'BRNZ' at the same time. Then a girl or something? I mean, make up your mind," he attempted to joke. Obviously Weiss had more reliable knowledge than his media speculation.

"Hey, perhaps she's just weighing her options.” Both of Weiss's arms folded over her chest. “She's pretty publicly open about how she doesn't mind flirting with anyone and everyone, so if some guy dated her  _ expecting  _ for her to be a one-man girl or something, they're the stupid one."

His smile started to vanish as he brought the menu back up – as if it were a shield. Now he felt like he’d really stepped in it, without meaning to, since she had corrected him so fast. Clearing his throat after a while, he seemed to want to change the subject. 

"S-So… how's the new album coming?"

"Great. I mean, we're in the same business, so you have to know. But now you have me curious: what would you say if I dated two guys at the same time, and then a girl, and was now coming out to eat with you? Just for fun." 

There was no pause between the answering of his question and her follow-up to the previous subject. Swallowing, Neptune really was caught off guard. He didn't expect to have something he thought was so trivial come back to bite him. Not this soon, at least. In the end, he lowered the menu. 

"Okay, I get it, I was a jerk for assuming stuff. And she can date whoever she wants, obviously."

"Good. You can be taught; I like that quality in those with whom I associate myself." After looking at the menu for a moment, she glanced up at his put-out expression and sighed, dropping her frosty tone. "Most of Neon's flirting is an act the studio asks her to play up for the cameras. Not even kidding, she's a really sweet girl once you get to know her."

Tilting his head, he looked back at her, the smile seeming to crawl back into his face again. "Huh… I've seen some weird acts for the cameras, but that's a new one! But… actually it makes sense, her career's practically built on it. We have to sell the product, right?"

Taking a drink of water, she smiled and set the glass down. "Sorry I had to cut you off at the knees there. Just… when will the slut-shaming end, you know?"

"Well… Alright, that's a fair point. You taught me the error of my ways." Seemed Neptune could actually take a lesson in his stride rather than stress or argue against it. Once he'd finally decided on a meal choice, he waited for a waiter to take their order. But in that time, he thought it appropriate to as, "What about you?  _ Are _ you dating two guys and a girl?"

"Maybe," she hedged, eyes narrowed slightly. "But I can't honestly tell what your reaction would be if that were true." She inhaled and exhaled deeply. "Are you going to get up and walk away from this table if I told you I've kissed a girl? Like, just don’t want to talk to me if you might not ‘get anywhere’? Honest question."

"Hey, whoa, didn’t know I was going to be on trial here," he chuckled. When there was no answer, he held his hands together instead, rolling his thumbs around one another idly. "I'd more be wondering if you're just quoting Katy Perry, but, nah. I'm not that stuck in the past."

Weiss dipped her index fingertip into her water, swirling the ice cubes around. Focusing her eyes on that as she asked, "What if I told you 'the past' was… a few days ago?" 

That definitely made Neptune raise an eyebrow. Even he wasn't that oblivious. It all seemed far too specific for her to be talking in just hypotheticals. In fact …

"Are you trying to tell me you're bi, or something?"

"Don’t forget,” she began cautiously, “I never said this was an official date, just that I wanted to get  _ dinner _ with you. Just dinner! And, um… maybe I took advantage of that social construct and didn't let you know that I'm probably not interested in anything beyond friendship with you…" Her voice got quieter, more introspective. "Maybe I just wanted to see how I felt when I got here. Hoping I would feel something for… for a guy. That's probably not very nice of me. Sorry."

"Uh-huh… so, gay then?" He tilted his head. But never once did he seem offended, nor move to walk away from the table. He was mostly contemplative. The only move he did make was to brush his hair off his face. "Well, I guess that's kind of a relief, then. Least I can stop worrying about why my flirting game has been so weak when it comes to you.”

"You were worried about that?" she asked with a cautious smile. "I mean, to be blunt, you did lay it on pretty heavy the last time we saw each other."

"Ugh, I know." His hand remained in his hair for a moment longer when he looked away in embarrassment. Seemed even the cool Neptune Vasilias was human sometimes. "Truth is, I haven’t really had to make the advances; before I got famous, I neer went on any dates, and afterward, girls thew themselves at me so hard I didn’t have to do the work myself. Which like, first world problem, am I right?”

“A little bit,” she chuckled. “And that’s why you were being such a douchebag?”

“Wow, ouch. But yeah, Sun more or less set me straight on that one, gave me a little guy-to-guy talk about how to pick up girls and told me, 'you don't'. Then I thought about it and realized what he meant, and figured I blew it." Then he looked back to her at last, lowering the shades a fraction. "But, I guess knowing we're still pals at least ain't so bad."

"You and Sun, or you and I?"

They both laughed, and she looked up to see the waitress arrive again. They proceeded to order their sushi, Weiss picking her nigiri like a pro and Neptune ending up asking for a California Roll, since he'd actually heard of that one before. She graciously offered to let him try one or two off her own plate by way of compromise.

"So yeah, I'm… I'd say 'lesbian' is probably the most accurate label, even though it's not one I chose myself," she confessed in a very quiet tone once they were alone again. Her face and neck were flushed, and her breath shallow and quick with fear. "Just kind of happened this way. And I'm sorry if that comes as a bit of a shock… wow. I was not expecting to come out to you or anyone at all today." 

"Hey, that's cool! I don't mind at all." Neptune had been smiling all the way through, genuinely listening to what she had to say and taking it in. As much as a date would have had him making flirtatious advances at every chance, this was far  laxer . He was acting himself, rather than what folk saw in the camera. "Like, sure it comes as a little bit of a shock, I guess? Because I'm so used to you singing about boys, and basically how the media makes things out; but I think it's pretty rad, actually."

Then he leant in toward the table, asking quietly. "So, this girl you kissed, huh?"

He was challenging slightly; in a playful way, more than a dirty or annoying way. She decided to rise to it, and leaned in. "This girl whose  _ top _ I took off, huh?"

"Ooo la laaa! Did not expect that from  _ the  _ Weiss." He smirked a lot more playfully, tilting his head to one side again. "Sounded like you had fun, anyways."

"Yeah… yeah, that's the thing." Her smile slipped slightly. "I did have fun, but… okay, can I ask you about like, personal stuff? It's okay if you don't wanna get 'too real', like I'll totally understand; this was supposed to be a casual thing."

Leaning back again on his seat to relax fully, the smirk faded again. No more games; just a genuine chat with a friend over lunch. "Go ahead. I'm all ears."

"How… God, what am I asking you this for?" But she persisted anyway when he didn't stop her. "How long is long enough to wait after a breakup before you, like… date somebody new?"

That took him back slightly, making him wince while he thought about the question. "Well, if you kissed the girl a few days ago but are looking for someone new now, I'd say you were a bit of a player." Although, he then turned slightly more serious. "But I have a feeling this is a different girl, right?"

Weiss nodded, swallowing. "It's… been a month or so. And when you get down to it, we didn't date very long, but she… was my first serious relationship. I don't know, I feel ready, and then I don't, and the last thing I want is to lead this new girl on if I'm… still a mess."

"Breakups are always a bitch, right? Whether because the other person is a bitch, or because you had to be a bitch for yourself. Either way… I don’t think there's any real time limit." But before she could interrupt, he added, "Within reason, I mean. I'm not saying get with someone else just because you can, but… you shouldn't feel guilty about moving on, y'know?"

Weiss pulled the chopsticks toward herself, tore open the packet, divided them with a brutal  _ snap! _ and began to slide each stick over the other, watching them carefully as she spoke. "I know I shouldn't. She moved on from me. Dumped me. She's gone, she's fine, she's… off doing her own thing. I should have no guilt at all about going out and living my life again."

Doing the same for himself, he resisted snapping the sticks apart just yet, simply holding them together a moment while Weiss seemed to release that pent-up anger on the pair of sticks she held. "Damn, that's rough… but, her loss, right? Who'd be dumb enough to dump  _ The  _ Weiss? That's like swapping a prime cut of steak for a one-dollar cheeseburger from McDonald's." Though straight away, he corrected himself. "Not that you're a slab of meat, I mean! It's purely a metaphor."

At that, she looked up with a shrewd little smirk. "You caught yourself that time. Good boy, Neptune; you get a biscuit." But her hand waved the whole issue aside in favour of the bigger topic. "She had every right. I mean, it's a relationship, not slavery; I didn't own her, and I didn't want to. Just… wish I knew why she left."

Of course, the bitterness crept back in as she spoke the last part, but she tried not to show it outwardly, and did not elaborate. Simply kept smoothing her chopsticks to get rid of imaginary splinters.

"And she never even gave a reason? Oh, this gets better and better…" He rolled his eyes. Of course, he was frustrated at who did this to his friend, not at his friend herself. Snapping his own sticks a lot more gently, he began to rub them together as well. "If she's not even willing to tell you what you did wrong, then what reason do you have to feel guilty about moving on? Why give a rat ’ s ass about her happiness if she clearly doesn't about yours?"

"Yeah… yeah, you're right!" Nodding to herself, her face turned distinctly more determined as she sharpened faster, the already high-pitched sound climbing higher and louder. "I've given her enough time to come around, to text me, to do something other than ignore me completely!  _ Plenty  _ of time! Well, no more waiting for no good reason! I’m moving on! Weiss Schnee is gonna go over there and make that glowstick-waving hottie scream that name out loud!"

That seemed to get the attention of a few of the customers, and even one or two of the waiters. Enough attention was drawn to them to make Neptune pull nervously at his collar, and laugh to himself. Before anyone could raise any question, he called out, "We're playing Truth or Dare, sorry!"

But as soon as they turned away, he cleared his throat, waiting for the area to calm down before he spoke again. "Fucking do it, girl. Go out there, relax, fuck around for a while. Do what you wanna do to be happy; that's the biggest 'fuck you' you can give an ex, right?"

"It is, and… and I will!" There was another  _ snap! _ and Weiss looked down to see she had broken one of the chopsticks. "Oh… crap, I didn't mean to do that…"

There was just a snort from Neptune as he tried to contain his laughter, the cheesy grin doing very little to suppress it and keep it down however. But he handed his pair over the table to her, and stood. "Here, have mine. I'll go get some more."

"Thank you," she sighed wearily.

By the time Neptune returned from replacing her broken sticks, their sushi had arrived at last. They set to work, both trying one or two of their own, Neptune doing his best with the chopsticks despite being unfamiliar. Then Weiss picked up yet another piece.

"Want to try this one? It's only  _ tomago. _ " When he didn't respond, she translated, "Egg. It's egg"

"All I could think of was that  _ Big Hero Six _ chick," he commented once he'd swallowed some of his food, looking toward the piece in the sticks. Weiss’s expression showed no recognition at all. Shrugging his shoulders, he leant further forward, expecting her to put it in his mouth for him. "What the hell. We all gotta have new experiences, right?"

And she did. Despite the fact that it was a bit more "intimate" of an activity than friends normally would enjoy, she had offered, and didn't really think it mattered enough to plop it on his plate and make him pick it up himself with his mediocre skills.

"What do you think?" she asked once sitting back.

Taking a little longer than normal to chew his food, he seemed to look upward for a moment, as though he was really thinking about the taste and nothing else. After a while longer, he swallowed. "Not bad," he concluded before sitting back. "Rather have a whole omelette with cheese, though."

Laughing, Weiss responded, "That's fair," as she went back to her own plate. But her mind was primarily on something else - or some _ one _ else. She raised her small cup of green tea and cleared her throat. "So… to new experiences, right?"

Though he had only just managed to pick up another piece from his own plate, it was promptly dropped as soon as Weiss caught his attention again. Not that he was truly annoyed. He simply put the sticks back down again and picked up his own cup, tapping it lightly against hers. 

"You bet'cha. To new experiences, and  ‘ fuck you ’  to the past."

_ "Kanpai!" _ When he merely raised an eyebrow, she giggled and said, "That's 'cheers.' I have a lot to teach you!"

* * *

 

After a long, tedious day at work, the last thing Blake Belladonna wanted to see when she walked into her apartment was Yang sprawled across her couch, half-drunk and dozing. Especially not when she was supposed to be heading into work at that time. She pushed the door shut, not too quietly, and the girl barely stirred.

"Ugh… really?" Walking over to the blonde, she reached over and grabbed her legs, swinging them off the couch. "Wake  _ up, _ you dumbass!"

There was a very quiet groan when her legs were pulled to one side, twisting her position to one that was half sliding off the sofa. Only then did she finally start to open her eyes. One after the other, blinking them out of sync. She was drunk. Again. If that wasn't obvious by the several empty cans scattered by her.

"You're supposed to be halfway to work right now. What is this?" Blake picked up a can and held it up. "Why are you still laying around?"

When her eyes were open — well, barely open, at least — she attempted to focus on what Blake was showing her. But it wasn't coming to much use. Anyone looking at her now would come to the same conclusion; Yang Xiao Long was a complete and utter mess.

"That…" She managed to slur on that word alone, head swaying as though it weighed a tonne. "Is a can…"

"Really? That's the best you have?" No immediate reaction. All the stress of her day, coupled with the stress of dealing with Yang turning into this shell of herself, boiled to the surface. She didn't snap; Blake never really snapped. But she did decide there was nothing to be gained by holding back.

"Get up, right now. Get in the shower. I'll put on some coffee while you're in there, and drive you into work. But you have to get moving."

Yang still didn't respond straight away. Only continued to blink out of sync as she looked around. She didn't have the strength to argue, nor any real words to respond with. She wasn't even thinking about work, or how people would react. Just about making herself ridiculously numb. That was the only thing she could do right. Finally nodding, she managed to slip her arms behind her, only just managing to use them to push herself up on her feet. But when she stood upright, her balance was completely off. She couldn't even stand still for a long period of time without stumbling.

"Nope!" Blake grunted, just managing to feint to the side and catch her before she went down. "No, no, you're going upstairs and into the shower, come on." 

With that, she began to drag her toward the stairs. There was another strained groan that could easily be compared to a toddler having a tantrum. But at least when she was actually at the stairs, there was no excuse. She grabbed the railing to pull herself up and support herself, not needing Blake's help for the rest of it. At least a shower would probably snap her out of the initial daze.

While she trudged upstairs, Blake went about getting the coffee on, picking up the beer cans from the living room. Kicking off her sensible black flats and going upstairs after Yang; the nouveau-lush probably hadn ’ t even laid her clothes out before she hit the bathroom. It would be up to her to take care of that.

Walking into the spare bedroom was like walking into the remnants of a bombed city. Beer cans, a tray full of weed ash, clothes all over the floor …  it wasn ’ t as bad as it could have been, but Blake still didn ’ t want her home looking like that. She quickly nipped things into the trash that belonged there, got the dirty clothes into a laundry basket. Straightened the bedclothes. Then she went into the closet to find some suitable work garb …

And saw the garment bag.

Amber eyes darted toward the doorway. She had been curious, why out of all the things Yang no longer seemed to care about, this whatever-it-was had the luxury of being perfectly preserved inside the slick plastic covering. Why had it meant so much to Yang? Why was it being hidden away like this?

Curiosity caught the cat up, and she had to find out. Suppressing her guilt with the excuse of  “it’ s my apartment and she ’ s staying here ” , she reached out and drew the zipper down – and beheld a beautiful, traditional silk dress, in such gorgeous shades! White with purples and lilacs, and such long sleeves, furling pleats …  the picture of femininity. The fact that  _ Yang, _ of all people, should own something like that, boggled her mind.

Then another thought came to Blake, one she couldn ’ t shake despite knowing she should, needed to resist. What would it look like on  _ her? _

Not even ten meters away in the shower, the unsuspecting blonde was stood a little more stable as the water flowed through her hair and over her body. It was rather cold, but she seemed too numb to notice. But it did have an unintended side effect. It was snapping Yang out of her happier daze again.

And bringing back that empty shell which Blake was so used to. She shouldn't have to be, but it was just who Yang had become now. Cold, uncaring, blank. Like the very soul had gone from her. It wasn't getting better, even after she was apparently seeking help and going to counselling. Slowly blinking as she looked down at herself again, she could practically feel the sadness creeping in again. That wasn't going to vanish today; great.

After a full ten minutes in the shower, and not even bothering with conditioner, Yang had turned the water off and started to get out. Blake might have meant well, but Yang certainly didn't feel up to what was ahead. An evening of serving obnoxious couples and families, most of which treated her like filth for one reason or another. Then even getting yelled at in the kitchen for one reason or another. Probably being late again. Finally resigning and wrapping a towel around her body, she exited. Of course, she left the old pajamas on the ground for Blake to pick up. She just didn't care enough right then to get them herself; she could later, if Blake didn’t do it. 

But as soon as she got back to her room, she was in for a shock. Eyes actually widening for once, she yelled loudly, louder than she had for weeks.

"What the fuck are you  _ doing?!" _

Whipping around to face the other way, Blake brought her hands up to press against her chest, nylon-covered toes scrunching up in vague embarrassment. A cautious smile hitched into her face as she spun in the  _ hanfu _ , letting it spin out around her shins.

“ Sorry for being so impulsive, but …  I mean, I found this, and I wondered if I ’ d look any good in it. What do you think? ”

Yang was speechless. But speechless in the worst possible way. She could feel her stomach churning, head spinning as though she was about to throw up. Whether that was because of the alcohol or not was up in the air right now. There was only one thing clear to her: she couldn't deal with it. Her hands curled into tight fists, she could almost feel her knuckles straining from holding them too hard. Blake wanted her to feel something for weeks, but now that was coming back to bite her. All Yang felt was pure rage. 

"Take, that, off.  _ Now _ ."

The smile vanished. It was true, as numb as Yang had been over the past few weeks, a few breakdowns notwithstanding, a display of anger was very sudden and very shocking to her. Dropping her voice to a whisper, she said,  “ Yang, I- listen, I ’ m sorry, I didn ’ t mean to- ”

"Take it  _ off!" _ she yelled even louder, exaggerating her words this time by stomping her foot. It was as though she was about to charge, what on earth had come over her?!

"Yang!" Blake burst out, stricken, face turning completely pale. She'd never seen Yang this angry with her before, and had no idea where it was coming from. And the stamp might not have been a real display of violence, but it was too close to one for her to feel safe. She held up her hands in front of her. "Alright! I'm… I'm taking it off, give me time to make sure I don't mess it up…"

While Blake did just that she paced back and forth, hands taking their place back into the blonde hair again. After a while, Blake had noticed it had become a habit when Yang was severely stressed out. But for something as simple as _clothing_ to trigger it? There must be something more, some meaning to it. But while she tugged it and clenched her teeth, it would be very difficult to get that answer.

Even more so when Blake was about to lay it on the bed, and Yang moved herself forward, instead releasing her hair so she could snatch it from Blake's hands, hard. There were already tears welling up in her eyes when she yelled, "It's not yours! You're not allowed to touch this!"

"No, I get it now," Blake told her in a thunderstruck voice, backing off completely so she could put it back into the garment bag herself, if she so chose. "Y-you did tell me it was traditional – I mean, how was I supposed to know, though? I only saw it once when you got here, and you never told me you didn’t want it ever touched!"

Yang didn't even answer at first. She was too busy focusing on putting it away again as neatly as she possibly could. Since she snatched it, there were now creases that wouldn't come out by brushing her hand over the material. It wasn't anything major, an iron would easily solve the problem. But for Yang, it was enough to set off more of a reaction. Enough to make the lingering tears fall as she stared down at it in complete disdain.

"It's ruined… it's fucking ruined!" She only thanked God Blake couldn't see her face, especially when she pounded her fist against the mattress. Such a small thing was creating all this. "That was all I had left! All I fucking had!"

After a few seconds, Blake found her voice again.  “Yang… I’ m sorry. That wasn ’ t- I honestly didn ’ t mean to hurt you, okay? I ’ ll pay to have it fixed, I ’ ll do whatever is needed, I promi- ”

"WHY?!" Yang yelled at the top of her voice, quickly spinning herself around to face Blake again. That question was coming up a lot recently between the both of them. Particularly for Yang's now terrified best friend. That was, if they were friends anymore. From how things were going, it seemed like there was nothing of the blonde she once knew left.

_ "I bought it for her, I kept it perfect for her! It reminds me of her, and it's ruined!" _ she screamed, tears freely flowing down her face.  _ "Why can't I keep one, single, FUCKING PIECE OF HAPPINESS?!" _

Blake's gaze dropped to the floor, her own eyes brimming with tears. The sheer volume, the implications… Yang's rage. She didn’t do well with open displays of anger or violence. Her system was shutting down, she couldn't process anything other than that she had really messed up this time and she was going to be feeling the pain of it for a while.

"I'll let you get dressed. I'm sorry, I… I'm sorry." Then she turned and stepped into the hallway, finding her way to her bedroom door, leaning against the doorjamb and trying not to break down or have a panic attack.

But Yang didn't get dressed. She merely brought the robe back out from the garment bag again, running a hand over one of the creases where she'd grabbed it. Rational thought was returning, but it'd returned too late – and only to give her a firm reminder that she was the one that snatched it. She did the damage, she ruined it. No one else. Just like everything else that had gone wrong. It was her fault.

And with that, she pulled it in toward herself, falling to her knees as she curled into a ball of her own, pressing it tightly against her as she cried again. Loudly sobbing, even straining her voice as she tried to breathe past the lump forming in her throat, hugging the material like it really was all she had left in the world.

"Why?" she repeated again, unaware that her friend was still in earshot. "Why am I still here?"

But hers were not the only tears in the apartment. The others were more silent, more private. Blake looked down at her body, at where the dress had touched her, and hated it. Yet another moment that proved to her that no matter how much Yang might not mind touching her, she would never quite be worth the same to her as Weiss Schnee. Not in the same way.

Proven yet more fully by the fact that Yang did not want to be there with her. Wished she were anywhere else. No matter how hard she tried to help, how kind she was, stern, forgiving, encouraging… she fell short. And this one mistake was enough to get Yang screaming at her like she was her worst enemy.

She wasn't quite sure where it came from, but she felt her emotions close off. She could cry later. Would; definitely would, it was inevitable. Turning back to the bedroom, she walked to the doorway and cleared her throat.

The sobs were brought to a stop when she heard. Sniffing deeply as she managed to turn and look toward Blake, she saw that stern expression again. A cold one, one she saw when Blake was making her stop drinking, or stop smoking more. She froze up, clueless as to what she was in for.

"You… can scream at me again when you get off your shift," she told her bluntly. "Right now you have to get dressed. NO," she cut her off immediately. "You're going to work. Period."

But the blonde only felt herself clutching the hanfu closer to her, and felt the tears returning to her eyes yet again. She tried to will herself to get up, well and truly. But no matter how loudly her brain was screaming at her to move …

"I can't."

Blake's voice didn't get louder. It got quieter. Even though it had been years since they had an argument like this, surely Yang couldn't forget that her voice worked the opposite way from other people; that was when she was  _ really  _ serious.

"Yang, you have to do something. If you don't make it to work today… then I'm sure as hell not paying for you to get drunk and high anymore. Support your own habits, or don't. That's all there is to it."

The gaze only fell to the ground instead. She didn't move, didn't even put up an argument anymore. All of that energy that had seemed to return, even if it was just to scream and then to cry; now it was gone. It would seem to Blake that Yang made her choice. Crying on the ground it was.

"Fine." Taking a deep breath, she let it out as slowly and smoothly as she could, though it did nothing to make her feel better. "I'm going over to Sun's. And I'm taking all the hash and beer and leaving it over there for now. You know where to reach me, my cell is charged. Just… do whatever you feel like doing, I guess."

There was so much Yang wanted to say to that. It shocked her, a lot more than she anticipated it would. She wanted to apologise for her behavior, even open up, explain possibly, let her in on the dark path that was becoming more and more tempting to walk down. But in the end, she did none of that. She simply appeared just as numb as she always was, even if she wasn’t on the inside.

"Whatever."

Blake's mouth opened. She made a wide gesture, opened it again, pressed a hand to her mouth. Turned to leave, was all the way to the top of the staircase before she stopped, turned back to her room, and fetched her weed stash. Might as well follow through.

On her way back, she paused just out of sight of the door frame, still just able to see a sliver of the room from where she stood. In a hollow voice, she said, "You know… I don't know what I'm doing wrong and what I'm doing right anymore. You're confusing the hell out of me. But at least I'm trying." Then she walked down the stairs.

There was nothing else. No further comments, no further sounds of Yang attempting to at least get up or move. Just painful silence. And even when she heard Blake walk down into the kitchen, there was still nothing. She was following through with the plan, leaving Yang with nothing but herself to rely on.

Even if she had some money to spare to get back what Blake had taken, it didn't matter. Not when she lacked the basic motivation to get out of bed some days. How on earth was she going to get out of this one now? She'd officially burnt the only bridge she had left toward some kind of free lifestyle. She'd pushed away a friend that tried to help her however she could, in every possible way. The smell of the freshly brewed coffee was a big reminder of that.

When she finally heard the front door close, it was like the final thud of the jail cell door. She realized deep down in her gut now: she was trapped. And she had built the trap herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY BOXING DAY! And seriously we know that the argument was pretty rough but like, damn. Something had to break. Still no Freezerburn; it‘s coming eventually, we promise!


	31. Chapter 31

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Weiss/Neon. Ear-licking, fingering, erotic oil massage, grinding, pierced nipple play. Also, invasion of privacy.

**=Chapter 31**

Halfway across the country, Weiss and her date were just getting back to said date's apartment. Over the course of the preceding week, the two had exchanged a few more calls, texts, Skype sessions - and had met for lunch once in between. But this was their third official "date", inasmuch as the lunch had been very chaste and mainly focused on casual conversation. 

Also, it had been at a public enough caf é  that they were spotted together, and a single picture of Weiss laughing at a silly face Neon was making made it onto a dozen or more tabloid websites. Other than the novelty of it being two celebrities who hadn't been associated together in any way other than Lisa Lavender's show before, there wasn't much to report, so the story didn't gain much ground – though it would at least nudge them a little further under the microscope.

Today, however, had been more like their first date. Neon had suggested bowling, which Weiss turned down with a "But what about my nails?!" When Weiss expressed interest in going to a natural history museum, Neon made snoring noises until she gave up that plan, as well. Finally, they had settled on an elegant dinner at an Italian place, and a movie.

But as it turned out, the movie had merely given Neon an excuse to tease Weiss mercilessly. Hands wandered and kisses were exchanged in the dark, nearly-empty theater; they had specifically chosen a movie that had been out several weeks in the hopes there would only be a few other people inside, which turned out to be true. Grateful for the solitude, Weiss had even allowed a hand to briefly tease its way up her skirt and along her inner thighs before she pushed it away with a nervous giggle and moved it up to her own waist. Even if she wasn't ready to go that far in public, it didn't mean she hated the attention altogether.

"…so stupid," Weiss was saying as Neon's door swung open and they flicked on the lights. "How are you supposed to time travel in a  _ hot tub? _ Honestly, it doesn't even make sense regardless of if you turn off your brain and try to enjoy the ludicrousness."

"I know, it was ridiculous! I heard it got a less than  _ ten  _ percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, that says more than enough to me." Neon laughed, tossing her bag to one side and flicking her shoes off in the small hallway, before she waited eagerly for Weiss to do the same. It was quite late, but Weiss had informed her driver, and in turn her father, that she would be out all night tonight. Neon knew that fact just as much as her, that things tonight may take their relationship further along.

Could they call it a relationship now? Sure, there was a lot of kissing, and making out, even a dry humping session last time they ended up here and somewhat in the movie theatre; more than nothing. But was that enough to consider the two girlfriends? Still, Neon seemed unconcerned. Whatever their status, they were going to have a  _ lot  _ of fun tonight.

“ Yeah, oh well; we made our own entertainment. ”  Stepping out of her heels, she sighed and padded into Neon ’ s living room, throwing herself on the couch and deflating like a balloon with a slow leak.  “ Ooh …  I must be getting old for my age or something. I couldn ’ t go clubbing now even if I wanted to. ” 

"Old?!" Neon protested, soon taking a seat right by her side and lifting her feet to the edge of the coffee table so she could relax fully. Yet again, she threw her arm around Weiss, bringing her in close just like she had all through the movie. "I'm three years older than you, pipsqueak! If you're old, then what am I?"

"Grandma Moses," Weiss giggled, nudging her with her arm and propping her own feet up next to Neon's, sighing in contentment as she absently gazed at twenty pedicured toes. Bizarre how she could need this so much without having even the slightest clue she did; just a friendly presence. One she could flirt with when she was in the mood, and could stop when she wasn't. No strings, no expectations. Perfect.

And it seemed Neon was just as pleased as she leant in toward her, pressing a kiss on the top of her head as they lay side by side. A hand started to brush up and down her arm gradually, just idly petting.

"Well, you got a bit handsy with this  _ grandma _ in that movie, huh?"

Pursing her lips, she hissed, "Oh, shush. I was going for  _ maybe  _ second base,  _ maybe  _ \- but you wanted to strip down and make the sticky floors even stickier! Are you out of your mind?!"

"Nothing wrong with a little grope in the dark." She smirked, pressing another kiss on her head once again. "And besides, you feel so amazing that it’s really hard not to wanna make floors sticky."

A long moment passed. Weiss inspected her fingernails, checked her phone. Then she finally muttered, "Fine. It  _ was  _ pretty exciting, I guess."

This time, when she pressed another kiss in, Neon remained close to her ear. Her breathing could be felt right against her skin, especially when she whispered, "Things can get exciting tonight, if you want."

Then Weiss faltered. "Oh… can they?" But she cleared her throat and attempted to regain the carefree mood. "You really want in my skirt, don't you? Shameless."

Rolling her eyes, Neon moved her efforts from Weiss's ear to her neck instead, beginning to plant kisses every so often against it. She allowed her spare hand to land on Weiss's leg, gradually petting that as well as her arm.

"Can you blame me?" she allowed herself to whisper, slowly pushing the skirt upward with each pet. "When what's wearing it is such a plate full of yummy?"

"W-well…" Flattery was doing the trick. Smiling even while Neon caused her to tremble, she glanced over and whispered, "Guess that would be a pretty dumb thing to blame you for."

Neon only continued to pet, continued to look into the blue eyes. This time, she waited for Weiss to make the first proper move; after all, Weiss was the one who always became nervous after a while, the one who pulled away. Which was fine, but Neon assumed letting her lead would ease it.

Weiss felt the shift in the atmosphere. Desire spiking deep within her, reaching out for the nearest available target. In this case… her hand found its way to Neon's thigh, returning the same gesture. One she had been enjoying, despite all of her many and varied fears. Nothing else had changed about her reaction to the nibbles at her neck and ear, but this was a small start.

Those nibbles and licks only continued. Neon really was like a cat at heart! But all the while, she never stopped the petting, never stopped bringing her in closer toward her. She wanted to make it known that she wanted her, even if she wasn't making the moves.

Well, except for one. As she leant back up to Weiss's ear again, this time she went right in, seeming like she was about to whisper. She wasn't. Instead, her tongue wriggled its way inside, right against the entrance of the ear canal. She knew from her own experience it was a fantastic way to drive someone crazy by barely doing anything.

"A-AAAHHH!" Weiss burst out, drawing back and away. Not completely off her couch, but enough so that the tongue was not anywhere near her ear. "You… wh-what was that?!"

Drawing herself back, Neon was still wearing that cheeky smile of hers when she giggled, cheekily licking her lips. "What, you didn't like it? That used to be an insta-wet move for me."

"NO!" she answered immediately… even if it was only partially true. The unorthodox action had definitely flipped some switches, but she was far too taken aback at the very notion of doing that to someone to feel them properly. A tongue? In someone's  _ ear?! _ The very idea set her skin crawling, both in good ways and bad. Then again, her own tongue had been equally-unscrupulous places before. 

But that reaction only made Neon laugh even louder, releasing her from her grip so she could reach up to the ties in her hair, starting to pull them out so it would flow free instead. Different tactics. "Alright alright, we'll try other stuff instead then."

"Good. I mean, is that really something you want done to you? My tongue in your ear?" This question had a slight sarcastic tone to it, but if Weiss were honest with herself, she was very curious about all the things Neon seemed to be into.

Once her red hair was free again and she began running her hands through it to neaten it down, she giggled softly, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Hey, can’t explain why, but it just feels really good. Kinky and weird, but good. Most of the girls I've been with were the same."

Something about seeing Neon with her hair down was oddly… enchanting to Weiss. The girl was too much of a partier to wear it any way other than fluffy twin tails, but when let out of their trapping ties, they became a singular orange cloud, just resting on her shoulders. Noticing that set her at ease, for reasons she couldn't quite figure out.

"You're so gorgeous," she found herself whispering out of nowhere.

Tilting her head, Neon shrugged her shoulders. "Tell me something  I  _ don’t _ know ." And then she leant in toward her again, softly whispering, "And I can be yours. Here, or the bedroom, or anywhere you want."

A determined look settled over Weiss’s pale features. She didn't want to be afraid to find out where life would lead her anymore, what she was missing out on because she had to stick to rules that no longer seemed to apply. So she leaned in and flitted her tongue very briefly into Neon's ear. Just enough to feel that it had truly happened before she drew back again, watching for her reaction.

In that very small moment Weiss's tongue was in contact, she shivered, eyes closed as she let out a small moan. Of all things,  _ this _ was something that she would moan at? It seemed crazy. But then again, Neon lived for crazy.

_ "Really?" _ the white-haired diva half-gasped out of shock. Then she shrugged. "I mean… I guess everybody has to like something." Then she leaned closer and wrapped her arms around her gently, nuzzling her mouth closer to the little ear. Her lips barely breathed, "Do you want me to do that again?"

No verbal response. Just frantic nodding. She wanted it again, definitely. So much so that one hand fell to the back of Weiss's head, petting the hair to keep her there.

And so Weiss did as she was bade. The salty tang of skin mingled with a slight tinge, one that she didn't mind as much as she had expected to. Calling it "pleasant" would have been a lie, but it was a tolerable act… and the strangely rigid contours of Neon's tiny ear were enough to send a chill down her spine every time the surface of her tongue ran over them. This shouldn't feel good to both of them, should it?

"Oh…"

Another strange moan was coaxed from her as she gripped Weiss's hair even tighter, eyes remaining closed all throughout the teasing. Heat started to spark already from the small movements and flicks of her tongue, the warm wetness that shouldn't be there. She even found herself biting her lip purely to prevent any moans being too loud.

When Weiss drew away, she left a soft kiss on Neon's cheek as her hand came to rest on her exposed midriff. An excited smile played across her lips, one that hinted at so many things…

"That was, um, unique. And you sounded like you really enjoyed yourself there, buster… did you?"

"I did," Neon confessed, leaning into Weiss's touch all the while. Anything she could get, she would be satisfied with. No matter what form it came in. The hand she had in Weiss's hair was beginning to scratch lightly as she was starting to think of more ideas. "How about we continue this in my room?"

Something about that request irritated Weiss. Made her want to challenge Neon's plan, to alter it - but not in the way she had before. Not by running away, hiding, denying both of them the enjoyment they could have. Just changing the nature of their game a little. Maybe it was her competitive nature rearing its head.

"How about instead… we don't?" Weiss sighed directly into Neon's ear… as her hand drifted down to her thigh and slid up under her skirt in one fluid, swift motion.

Having to bite her lip to suppress her reactions again, Neon looked downward to what Weiss was doing. Hands were now under her skirt, and gradually gaining height to square in toward their goal. For someone who hadn't done this before to her knowledge, Weiss sure was brave. She parted her legs further, showing she wanted more.

But fondling  _ wasn’t _ new for Weiss, even if this particular territory was as yet unexplored . Encounters with Yang had already proven to her that she was a lot more at ease with teasing someone else than letting them tease her. And she was going to do just that; her fingertips glided over the thin fabric of Neon's underwear, pressing into her obvious wetness through them.

"Lace? Wow, you're really putting out the welcome mat."

"Again, can you blame me?" she asked, continuing to relax into the sofa more and more as Weiss had her way with her. But after a while of toying with the lace, she thought it safe to assume that Weiss liked it. A lot. So she whispered, "You don't even have to take them off, just push them aside if you want."

"What if I tear them off?" But she was only joking. Her fingers edged the panties aside…

And for the first time in her life, Weiss Schnee felt labia that were not her own. Luckily for Neon, she had been "practicing" with the pictures of Yang still on her phone, torturing her own flesh once or twice a week when she became too restless to keep her hands off of herself. Though at first she had been so ashamed of that fact, hating that she was needy and had no willpower, now she was glad for the experience. It would make it that much easier for her to give the gorgeous example of femininity beneath her hand the pleasure she deserved.

"Hmmh…" No protest at all from the adventurous redhead. In fact, from the feel of things, she had been waiting for this for a long time. Wetness was a complete contrast for Weiss, since where there would be rock hard arousal was only the softness she was beginning to touch. Nothing to pull about and jerk at, only lips for her to gently entice.

Though Weiss wasn't as gun-shy as she might have been before her own solo experiments, she did take a moment to recover. Her breath was shaky as she breathed in and out, closing her eyes as she got used to the sensation. Neon's silky lips. Right there, right up against her index finger. And her middle finger now, she was moving them back and forth… pressing up into them, amazed at how they could be almost identical but with subtle differences. And how odd to not be able to feel it herself! That was the primary thing throwing her off so much.

But the everlasting 'hmm' coming from Neon was telling her she was doing something right. Especially as she began to push her hips that bit more forward against the movements. She couldn't get enough, and continued to lightly scratch at Weiss's scalp as their play continued. The breathlessness from her Weiss was able to tell quite a lot; was she a complete virgin? Did she and that ex of hers never go this far? Somehow that prospect was making it even more exciting as Neon's breath got faster as well.

Of course Weiss did know what she liked on her own body. Simple math: if she transferred those tactics onto another body, they should have the same effect, right? That was her hope, anyway, as she traced a finger up to press gently against the clit that was just beginning to emerge from beneath its protective hood, firm and ready to be lavished with attention.

_ "Ho- _ boy!" That certainly increased the volume! While before she was content with simply panting and quietly moaning, now those moans had gotten louder, far  needier . Yet another difference between her and Yang, it seemed; while she was loud from the beginning, Yang was usually far quieter, only moaning in unison with her breathing and truly yelling when she was close, or even at her limit. All different experiences for her, and there were more to come.

Encouraged by the moans, Weiss leaned closer as she continued to tease the nub of flesh, fingertip moving in a small circle. This time, she poked the tip of her tongue deeper, teasing the rim of the canal inside Neon's ear. 

"Hah!  _ Ah! _ Oh my god! Yes!" The grip on Weiss's hair became so much tighter as she called out. Her legs also twitching lightly. All these sensations, there was just so much for her to encounter. And she loved it! How on earth was a virgin girl this good, it made no sense! But Neon was beyond caring. "D-don't stop — Weiss, you're too good! Too good to me!"

The fingers picked up in speed, trailing up and down the entirety of Neon's wetness, dipping down into her fragile lips and then up again to the nub. She remembered how Yang had teased her the most… and considering Neon probably had tons more experience in this area than she did, she would simply have to use every iota of knowledge she had.

"Ready for more?" Weiss breathed as two of her fingertips began to slide very slightly past the entrance, edging the skin aside.

"Yes! Yes, I'm  _ so  _ ready…" Yet again, this was so different to Yang. Not just their bodies, but the very reactions themselves. Neon was like Weiss, very vocal… sometimes too much. Yang would have just nodded, or showed signs that she was okay for everything to continue. However both of them would have done what Neon was doing, pushing herself up against the fingers as best she could needily.

Which sealed the deal quite easily; Weiss didn't hold back and only pressed her fingers in harder, until she began to squeeze in past the barrier of lips. To feel the insides of another eager wetness. It was incredible! Since she had first discovered she was somewhat attracted to Yang, she barely had a few opportunities to mentally entertain the possibility of touching another vagina before finding out Yang didn't even have one. That had been a relief, at the time; she had still firmly believed she was only meant to please a "male" organ, and doing anything else was taboo, unnatural, insane. Finding the one girl who just so happened to have the equipment that meshed with her own was a blessing.

And now here she was, thrilled to  _ death  _ that she knew how to make Neon moan, where to apply pressure that would shatter her senses. Satisfied that she wasn't just some horribly unfortunate lesbian-who-only-handled-dicks. Now she knew that genitals didn't matter to her; she only leaned toward the fairer sex, and could go wild on them no matter what they had in their pants.

Suddenly gasping when she felt fingers penetrate her entrance, Neon found her legs twitching, eyes rolling into the back of her head. Those slender fingers were doing wonders, brushing against her inner walls each time she felt them beginning to push in and out. More moans fell as she arced her back into the movements, still trying to keep ahold of herself. But she was failing.

_ "Yes!  _ Yes, thaaaaaaat's it!"

"Mmhhh," Weiss moaned against her ear, tongue entering again as she began to curve her fingers in, groping for that spot Yang had managed to find within herself. Had to be in there somewhere. A flutter pierced her heart as she worried she'd never find it, that she was too virginal, too inexperienced with all this …

Until there was another gasp, and an instant spasm of Neon’s body. That was it, that was the sweet spot! Her spare hand quickly grasped the nearby cushion, gripping so tightly she swore her nails would puncture its surface. But Weiss wasn't letting up, she was fingering and touching that spot over and over again.

"Oh my God!" she moaned out, gyrating her hips in unison to Weiss's moves. "God, Weiss! Keep going and I'm gonna… be close soon!"

Pressing her palm right up against her clit with every thrust up and into that throbbing spot inside of Neon, the white-haired novice felt like she had graduated early. This was clearly a hidden talent that had been inside her all along – or at least she lucked into being decent at it. She raked her teeth against the shell of the ear, hoping to drive her as wild as she could before the moment of release. To make it all the  heavier .

But she pulled away just enough to growl, "Come for me, you glowstick-waving rainbow  _ cunt!" _ before her tongue stabbed deep into her ear again, writhing back and forth.

The surprise of such a harsh word, and the stroking of two of her most pleasurable spots was enough to do the trick, and make Neon Katt quiver with pure joy. Finally, her moans became a screaming as she shook in pleasure, felt her insides trying to clamp down onto those fingers and milk them for all they were good for. Along with her hand pulling at the hair rather firmly.

Once she was done, she went slack against the sofa, panting heavily as she released the handful of hair, eyes only just beginning to open. But even then, they were filled with stars.

When she felt the body she was plying go limp, Weiss's lips moved gently across the expanse of a cheek toward lips, taking them very gently before she pulled back, both with her face and her fingers. Then she smiled a very knowing, very self-assured smile.

"You were pulling my hair and flopping all over the place, Neon. I must not have messed up  _ too  _ bad."

Still coming down and settling into the afterglow, Neon could only let out a weak laughter, reaching up to cup her cheek instead and keep her close. "You went a little crazy on me yourself," she whispered. " ’ Glowstick cunt ’ ? Wow, harsh."

"Oh…" Though she hadn't felt flustered at all in the entire time they had been enjoying each other, she did now; her cheeks reddened and she added, "Um… I was trying out that whole 'dirty talk' thing on you. Was I supposed to warn you first? I'm sorry!"

"No no! It’s fine, you… hah…" Still gasping for breath, she pressed her lips against Weiss's again for another kiss while she recollected herself. "You just surprised me! I thought you were against swearing and all that stuff. It was kinda hot, to be honest."

Slowly, Weiss let the smile return, kissing her back as she giggled. "Okay. I tried to tell you that I'm not very experienced, I'm making it up as I go." Then she raised her hand to her lips and flicked the tip of her tongue against the wetness lingering there.

"Not very experienced?!" Neon laughed as she looked toward what Weiss was doing. Incredible, she was going to lick off her essence like a pro. 

"Hmm? Something wrong?" Another long lick, this one taking its sweet time as she sampled Neon's wares. Truth be told, it was almost as delicious as Yang, if in a completely different way; sweet and thin instead of heady and thick.

"I-I… well… you…" 

This was new. The girl who wouldn't shut up, had been rendered speechless. All she could do was keep catching her breath and watch with wide eyes as Weiss lapped everything away, sending a fresh wave of warmth down below. In all honesty, it was doing the same for Weiss. She had been able to keep her own arousal at bay throughout sending Neon into throes of ecstasy, but now? Now they had done that, finished her off… and only one of them was left.

"Mmm, that was fun," she breathed as she lowered her hand, the sweet tang lingering on her lips as she turned and sat down on the couch. Her entire posture was suddenly tense, anxious. "You sounded fantastic, by the way - a true vocal performance from Neon Katt."

"Why thank you." She couldn't help but giggle to herself, reaching her hand down to pull her underwear back into place before she sat upright again. There was a slight smirk on her face as she looked back toward her, that same mischievous glint in her eyes. "And how about… I repay you somehow?"

Rolling her eyes, Weiss tried to play it off as a joke. She knew Neon was completely serious, of course, but the last time she had let herself try Neon's brand of repayment, she had bolted; avoiding that at any costs would make her a lot less panicky.

"You can repay me by making this weird crick in my neck disappear with your magic glowstick," she finally scoffed.

Although Neon was giggling again, raising a hand to her lips, she did begin to stare outward into thin air, deep in thought for a moment. "Actually," she began, a small smile forming on her face, "I can do that, easy."

"Your glowsticks aren't magical, sorry," she chuckled, turning to look at her… and pausing, her head tilted when she caught the expression on her face. "What?"

Grinning, Neon got back to her feet again, turning around and holding out a hand toward her guest to help her up. "You remember what I said about my past on Lavender's show, right? That I was a masseuse before this?"

That got Weiss blinking, though she did allow herself to be helped to standing. "No, I guess I must have missed that part… a lot was going on that day. Napkins with notes on them, just crazy stuff."

"Well, I guess that ’ s true." And then straight back to the point. "But yeah… If you want a massage, totally fine by me. I have some oils and stuff in my room, if you ’ re down?"

"Really? Oh… wow, you're legit, aren't you?" Shrugging her shoulders, she said, "It's been a while since I had a good shiatsu, so I guess… yeah, if you're sure you don't mind? This is supposed to be a date, not your worknight!"

"It ain't work if it’s for  _ you _ , dummy," she giggled, taking Weiss's hand as she pulled her with her back toward the hallway, heading straight toward the bedroom. No playing around with Neon; she got straight to business.

She pushed open the door to a small room, with the main features being the circular bed that sat against one of the walls, and the desk and dressing table against the opposite wall. Unlike Weiss's, there was plenty of decoration; mostly rainbows and stars all over the place, but it certainly made it seem homey. Made it seem more Neon.

"I love your room," Weiss sighed, even though she had glimpsed it through her doorway once before. As she stood there, she said, "So, um… how do I do this? On the bed, or do you have a massage table thing?"

"Well I don't massage people regularly anymore, so having a table would be pointless," she joked, however flicking a couple of switches on the wall turned the main lights back off again, leaving only a few much dimmer lights around her bed and the desk on. Light enough to see, but dark enough to set a relaxing mood. And to show off the painted rainbows as Neon intended: glow in the dark.

Walking toward the desk, she pulled open a few of her drawers as she called back, "Bed's fine, but if you want me to do it right, strip to your undies."

"WHAT?!" Clearing her throat, she tried to save face, at least marginally. "Um… I mean, uh, well, I knew that. Normally you do, don't you? I’m just not normally dating the masseuse." Then, as she reached behind herself to unzip her dress, she asked, "And do you have the traditional white towel to drape over me once I'm exposed for your professional needs?"

Pulling out one bottle from the drawer, she looked back toward Weiss with a small smirk. "I think that's optional in these more… personal circumstances."

As Weiss fought with her zipper, which was being distinctly uncooperative, she read the label once Neon had come a bit closer. "Apricot kernel oil? I didn't even know they made oil out of that!"

"Oh you'll be surprised what oils you can get." But she tilted her head when she noticed that Weiss was struggling, putting the bottle down on the bedside table. "Want a hand?"

"If you could, thanks," she sighed in defeat, turning to face away from her friend. Or whatever she was to her. "Sorry about this. Um, how long did you study massage?"

Quickly taking the zip in one hand, Neon gradually eased it downward, continuing to chat as she got her ready. "A year or so. I was naturally talented at it, but actually found that while I was working I'd be singing at the same time. One day I just got the right client who was connected in the industry; he gave me my big break, asking me to perform at a small function. Just to see how I handled the limelight."

"Just like that?" she asked as she felt cool air hit her back. "That's so lucky… I'm glad, though. You're really good out there." Then she let out a little chuckle. "I know I've been a little judgmental of your methods before, how you're always simulating sex acts and things like that on stage, but I guess just… partly, I'm jealous that you have so much more freedom to do whatever you want. No squeaky-clean image to maintain."

"Yeah, sure; just have to act like a slut and suppress my true sexuality. But I get what you mean." She helped slide the dress down Weiss's body, admiring her bare back for a moment, using this time to gently stroke her hand up and down one of her arms. "See, this is what I don't get, though. If the squeaky-clean image isn't by your choice, then who's?"

The temptation to stop speaking was strong. In fact, she was already halfway through saying "None of your business" when she cut it off in the middle of the third word, trying to soften her tone. "I mean… sorry, I didn’t mean to snap; this is a sensitive topic. You didn't do anything wrong." Stepping free from the dress, she raised her hands to cross over and touch her own shoulders, shielding her small chest from view before turning around.

"It's… my father. He's a decent man overall, but very conservative and a little tyrannical. Manages my entire professional  _ and  _ professional life, and my equally-tightassed sister picks up whatever slack he leaves. So I'm a little boxed in."

"Ah… wow, a regular mafia of music." Now Neon was beginning to understand. Of course, Yang knew from day one what background she had, having been given a brief introduction in her interview. But for Neon, she was learning as they went. Weiss had her chances handed to her on a silver platter; Neon had to build her career up from scratch. But at least her situation was slightly more flexible.

But then she was starting to think about other things. Like the video, the song; what it was about. "So… that viral video your pal Ruby put out… did he approve?"

"Not really. Of course, he was of the opinion that people were 'reading too much' into the lyrics — not seeing what he didn't want to see, and I let him believe his own fantasy. But he was also mad that I didn't keep a better eye on my 'unpolished material'."

"Yeah, I can understand that." She finally paced back, enough to allow Weiss to lie down. There were a lot of questions she had, about her father, about why the video even came to be… and about the other girl in it with her. But those could wait. Especially since she could see Weiss wasn't ready to answer them.

"No, you can't… and thank your lucky rainbows for that. He's just…" Sighing deeply, Weiss crawled onto the bed, closing her eyes at the soft feeling of the cotton sheet. All of the other blankets and pillows were wadded up in the corner, far away from her. "You have to put up with that Adam creep, which sucks, but at least he's not your father. Maybe someday you can get away from him completely."

"Yeah… maybe." She was beginning to agree. Sensing Weiss would be in no mood for her to be teasing, she grabbed the bottle again from the table and knelt by her side. Now she was there, she could drizzle the oil on her back, and then begin to rub it into her shoulders.  After the "AAAHH!" of the cold fluid first landing on her back, Weiss lapsed into silence. 

"But you don't need him much longer, you know," Neon continued. "I mean, that snippet of a song has got people going crazy… If you and that girl got together, wrote a whole album, you could get any recording contract you wanted –  _ without _ his help."

After nearly a minute of rubbing, Weiss finally grunted, "I can't get ahold of her right now. She's, um, on vacation."

Beginning to press her thumbs into the shoulders, Neon worked away at the tense muscles she was finding there. All the while, she had no idea this subject would be such a deep one, one that would spark old memories. "Cell phones are a thing though, right?"

"To some people," she grumbled – but immediately afterward, let out a long, low groan of relief. "Ohhhhhh,  _ God _ … wow, that's incredible…"

Starting to smile as she edged gradually closer to her neck to try and loosen that as well, Neon continued to work the oil all over her back. Her client seemed to instantly give, but it was a noticeable difference. "Geez! You really were tense…"

As the subject of Yang ebbed away, so did Weiss's stress, and she squirmed very slightly to get more comfortable on the bed. "And your hands… are  _ magic, _ Neon! Oh wow… can't believe you stopped doing this, even if it's because you can sing rings around me…"

“Don’t be dumb; your pipes are as good as my pipes.” 

Gradually she worked her way down Weiss's body, along her spine and slowly toward her hips. Anywhere she could reach, she would take care of, continuing to lather her body in the sweet-smelling moisture and working it into her skin. And Weiss kept up the groans of relief when she wasn’t sighing like a happy little kitten.

"Maybe I still got it," Neon giggled. "Or maybe it's just because it's you and me."

"Maybe, mmm… do you…" Her voice trailed off in a weak, contented laugh as she flipped her head from one side to the other. "Nah. This is great, never mind." 

"No no, go ahead," she encouraged, continuing to work with her hands even as she leant in toward her, whispering. "I'm listening."

Another gust of delight, this one higher and turning into a groan toward the end. "Ooh… can you do my legs next? All that stage practice, dance moves… you probably get what I mean…"

"Oh, is that all?" she asked, as though it were no big deal whatsoever. In truth, it wasn't. 

And that was proven as she crawled downward toward the legs in question, lathering them in the fluid and then immediately working into them with her thumbs. But it could not be denied, hearing Weiss groan in pleasure from her actions was spurring her own heat again. Maybe this would eventually lead somewhere yet.

"Ohhhhhhhh, yeah," Weiss bleated, one of her calves angling up, toes curled tightly inward before the leg fell limp again. "DAMN! Oh, I needed this! I needed it bad!"

And her noises were becoming very nearly sexual; just barely in front of that line, and occasionally darting across it before coming back to the platonic, massage-only side. Either way, Weiss was enjoying herself more than either of them had anticipated.

"Hmm, you really were tense." Continuing to make her way downwards, she smiled back up toward Weiss. This could be the perfect chance for them to try things again, for her to attempt to return the favor for those throes of pleasure she'd had a quarter of an hour ago. Testing those waters, as she finished on one side, and was going to move on to the other, she whispered, "I also provide… Intimate services…"

Partly due to the fingernail that brushed the sole of her other foot, and partly the proposition, Weiss shivered all over and let out a noise that sounded like a goat in heat. Then she kicked Neon very gently with the non-trapped leg.

"Silly… but I'll keep it in mind." When thumbs dug into the arch of her foot, she groaned, "NNnnnnnNNhhhh, that's criminal! You  _ can't  _ be this good with every part of the body, it's not possible!"

"Oh but it is." She giggled, continuing to knead into the flesh with her thumbs, grinning as she watched the woman below her completely come undone. Although when the sighs were becoming rather suspect again, she began to smirk, continuing to whisper sweet nothings.

"Are you  _ sure  _ I can't do more for you?"

"Well…" She was contemplating, as hard as that was made by the thumbs gouging into her feet, moving up her other calf. "You… you're already doing so well, but do you do… front-massages? Is that a thing?"

"I can make it a thing." Neon then took a few steps backward, watching her movements like a hawk as she stepped out of her own skirt. "Turn over."

Two words had rarely brought Weiss to such a standstill. She would be showing far more of her body off if she were to roll onto her back… but on the other hand, this  _ was  _ her idea. Slowly but surely, she did turn, and lay rigid as a board with her arms pressed up against her sides.

Now the redhead could just about see it all. Last time she was here, she saw her petite diva with a bra on, so not to this full extent before. Now she could see things to the full, the small mounds of her chest, the smooth stomach… everything but what her panties were covering. This was going to be just as much a treat to her as it was going to be for Weiss.

Before pressing hands inwards, she leant downward to press a kiss against her stomach. "Beautiful."

Another shiver. This one seemed to be due to the nearness of Neon's lips, how she was lingering so close to a certain region… but she was covered entirely. No real cause for alarm. Therefore, she followed up that shiver with a whispered, "Thank you" before trying her best to relax.

"Now then…" She began again, leaning upright as she grasped the bottle once more, holding it above her. But now there were choices to be made. Choices that could make this experience even more extreme. "Would you like for me to be sat here still? Or…" The next movement was gestured as she stroked Weiss's outer thigh. "Do you want me to straddle you?"

The further coating of her leg with oil convinced her. "Straddle me. I… think it should be easier for you to oil me up if you're like that." Her arms twitched again; they wanted to shoot up and cross over her front, to shield her nakedness from the other woman, regardless of how much she also wanted her to drink it in with her glittering eyes. So many conflicts inside of her …

As she wished, Neon slipped a leg over Weiss's body, straddling her hips just as she was commanded. Yet again, the fabric of their underwear was meeting again, grinding against one another just as it did their second date. But Neon couldn't focus on that. For now, she squirted more of the oil onto her hands, and began to rub it onto her shoulders, kneading in with her thumbs each time just as she had with her back. This time, they could maintain eye contact.

Clearly, it was a struggle for her, but Weiss eventually managed to close her eyes and enjoy the feeling of bliss her new girlfriend was gracious enough to bestow upon her. Those hands worked miracles! Letting out mewling sighs with every breath now, she relaxed into the motions as the hands began drifting down in the direction of her chest a little at a time.

And eventually, she was massaging around the petite mounds. Delicately kneading her fingertips into them, purely just for pleasure and pleasing her girlfriend this time. That's what they were now, right? Girlfriends? Maybe it was the right word, it certainly felt right for Neon to use at least. 

Once satisfied she had been coated in the sweet-smelling oils, she moved her hands inwards, starting to grasp and grope at her modest assets. Weiss arched her back up into the touch, a shaky gasp erupting as she felt palms on her peaks, taunting and invigorating her flesh. Again, Neon knew exactly what to do to get her going… and she was probably using every last shred of that knowledge to persuade her to let go and let God - even though in this case, God was a glowstick-waving redhead with tattoos and glitter on her cheeks. Very marginally, for the first time, she began to feel like their relationship might really work out after all.

If she could get over the fears that she had. Speaking of which, Neon was gradually beginning to explore. Shuffling herself down Weiss's body, she was straddling her legs instead, leaving her stomach and what was below exposed. It was covered with her panties for now, but as one hand began to trail toward them, it appeared that barrier wouldn’t hide her for much longer.

Within seconds, there was a discernible change in her breathing. Fingertips getting close to the waistband made the muscles of her stomach clench, her own hands grasping at the bedsheet. The conflict within her was like a raging storm; should she let this happen, or resist?

"Do you want this?" Neon asked, trailing a fingertip over the top of the band. It was both to fall into their play, and so she could genuinely find out. She needed to hear Weiss say it before she continued.

Both of her well-oiled shoulders shrugged. "Maybe. Do you?" Then she smiled bemusedly. "Like I really have to ask that."

"I wanna repay you." Neon continued to trail her fingers over it. Even though she was smiling, she was worried it would be a repeat of their previous two encounters. Anything to avoid that was a smart idea in her book. "But I need to hear you ask me for it."

"Yeah," Weiss sighed, eyes closing for a moment as she suppressed a reaction to the way the girl on top of her insisted on getting the okay. She knew it had been all her fault, that she was the one holding both of them back from enjoying each other so completely. That guilt was crushing. "Yeah, just… I'm sorry in advance if I'm nervous, but I really do want this. I promise."

"Thanks… I just don't wanna put pressure on you, okay? Well, not the bad kind." Finally, the moment had arrived. She trailed her hand upward and then dipped down into the band, slowly trailing further and further down. Through the patch of sparse hair, then eventually, toward the lips themselves…

"A-ahh!" she breathed as her body seized, her head tossing to one side and eyes screwing shut. This was more like it! Though she would have been fine if nothing more than petting and massaging happened, there were needs that had been going unmet. Having someone to tend them again was… nice. Exciting, but also comforting.

There was another comfort in all this. Weiss's first time with Yang, she had to get over a huge obstacle; her body confidence. Before, it took forever for her to work up the courage to allow Yang to look or touch her down there. But Neon wasn't even exposing it. She knew just how to get someone based on feel alone. It said enough about her skill, how much she had practiced; but also unintentionally served Weiss’s needs.

Two fingers trailed their way between her lips, venturing up and down the wetness she found there, gathering the moisture. "Ohh, Neon…" Her lips slowly turned into a vague smile. It had taken some effort of will, but she was going to enjoy herself. A beautiful girl was touching her intimately, teasing her body, and it was ridiculous for her to ignore that just because of a few old hang-ups.

"Weiss," she responded, her voice in a much lower tone as she purred in delight at what was happening to the woman below. It was more than enough of a response to get her going again – but no, this was Weiss's turn, and she was going to make it every bit as good as what she had received on the couch. Unconcerned for if the oil would stain her clothing, she laid herself on top of Weiss's body instead, pressing her lips against her exposed neck over and over as she continued to grind those fingers. Gradually, as she was getting into it, she felt her hips thrusting forward into it as well, in unison with her finger's movements.

So much of this was too familiar, too reminiscent of how things had been with- but no, not now. This was Neon on top of her, Neon who was worming fingers up against her vulnerable petals and kissing her neck. Neon whose shirt she was yanking off over her head frantically, in an effort to bring them closer, to make their activities more intimate.

"S-sorry," she breathed shakily once she realized there was an obstacle to taking it off one of the arms, letting the shirt hang from Neon's elbow awkwardly.

Neon instead giggled at her, stopping the movements of her fingers a moment as she came back into her view. "I get it. You want to see the ladies again, huh?"

Biting her lip, Weiss nodded. "I… want to see them… to feel you." Her face was burning up, almost as much as the flesh Neon couldn't resist sliding her fingers through continuously. She wanted to be with Neon so much more than she had expected — to feel something besides regret and loss. And she was past the point of worrying about how the other girl would react to her thinking that way, past holding herself back.

Neon drew her hand out, quickly using that time to shuck her shirt and toss it to one side, then to throw her bra atop the growing mound of clothing. Straight away however; she returned to what she was doing before. She pressed herself right up against Weiss's body, eagerly delivering more and more kisses to her neck. This time, Neon's own set of breasts was pushed up against her, the pointed piercings could be felt up against her chest as her fingers got straight back to work. She was on a mission, and was going to get there.

To Weiss's surprise, the steel of the piercings wasn't as cold as she'd been expecting. Already warm from being trapped up against her chest, there was only the sensation of rigidness that didn't belong next to the softness of her peaks. Weiss raised a hand to tease one again as their hips bucked, weighing it in her hand, pushing the stud from side to side.

Neon hummed contentedly, pushing her hips up against her repeatedly in unison with her fingers. Slowly, painfully so while she was gathering what she needed. But finally, she was trailing her hand lower, beginning to circle her entrance over and over. For Neon, she knew to save the best until last, which meant Weiss would have to wait if she wanted the sensitive nub played with.

The other hand suddenly shot into Neon's fluffy cloud of hair and gripped hard, dragging her down for a heated embrace, devouring her mouth with recklessness and need. And as she kissed her so hard… she also nodded. The orange-haired vixen could be felt smirking in the middle of the kiss as she did so right back, instantly allowing her tongue to find Weiss's as she passionately embraced her.  No more waiting.

And below, two things were happening at the same time. The fingers dove into her, pushing back and forth along the inner walls over and over again. And her hips… Those hips kept moving in unison with the diving fingers, almost like that was the force that was pushing her in and out. Like they weren't her fingers at all, but a part of her to only function for this purpose.

Something about those motions were familiar… but Weiss again chose not to delve too deeply into that thought. This was  _ Neon _ she was within the here and now. And she gratefully arched her back and moaned aloud into the other mouth as she was destroyed with a pair of fingers that had obviously been down that road many times before. 

They must have done. Given that in such little amount of time, they were curling to find that sweeter spot, massaging it with every thrust forward, every gyration of her hips. It may have been such a different person, but the actions almost mirrored Yang's. Her kiss with Weiss intensified, just as it would have if it were Yang. She continued to massage and touch Weiss's breast with her spare hand, just as Yang would have. And then her moaning was beginning to get louder and louder in Weiss's mouth – again, as she would expect from Yang.

"Nnhhhh!" she groaned into the lips above hers as that vulnerable cluster inside of her was assailed over and over, turning her into a writhing, orgasm-mad mess. No longer able to keep toying with Neon's chest without hurting her somehow, she abandoned that to reach up and dig her fingernails into her supple back, to cling for dear life. She was so wound up that it couldn't take much more of this before she was screaming into the ceiling.

"Hmmmhh…" Neon disengaged from her lips, and instead began to kiss and nibble at her neck over and over again, continuing to push in and out, back and forth with her hips. Weiss was close, so close. And she was going to send her rocketing there. Extending her thumb to rub against the cluster of nerves above as well as thrust against those below, she was prepared for Weiss to finish. So she whispered to her again, "Go on, you want to. You wanna come for me. Come for me, Princess!"

Oh, how that thumb pushed her beyond her limits! Losing all control of her body, she arched up into the hand that was punishing her body so completely, the lips laying waste to her neck and the words of her lover spurring her onward, coaxing her out of the shell just enough to let herself relish the climax crashing down around them.

"YES! FFFFUCK YES,  _ HARDER! _ That's right, that's- I'M- I'm g-gonna-  _ ohHHHHHHHH, YAAAAAANNNNGGG!" _

As she felt Weiss's orgasm roll over her body, felt the muscles clamp on her fingers over and over again, Neon pumped her fingers a few more times, milking her lover's orgasm for all it was worth. Yet another satisfied customer it seemed, making her grin with joy.

That was until she was starting to realize something… That wasn't her name Weiss had called. Nor was it just Weiss yelling out profanities to try and control herself. Weiss had called out another name. From how it sounded, another woman's name. What did that mean? 

She let Weiss have the last remnants of pleasure before she gradually eased away, drew her fingers back out of her body. Allowing a few moments for Weiss to regain her breath before she asked.

"What's a Yang?"

"A wha…?" For a few glorious seconds, Weiss just reached up and caressed Neon's cheek as she gazed up at her gratefully, trying to get her breath.

Then it hit home: she had said that in their final moments. Done the unthinkable and mentioned her ex  _ during sex. _

_ Fuck. _

And she was still laying there, nearly nude next to a half-clothed goddess whom she had insulted by calling the wrong name out, who looked only politely interested instead of horribly offended, the way she should have been. This was all wrong. The entire situation had gone from beautiful to terrible in less than ten seconds, and it was all. Her. Fault.

Upon seeing Weiss's expression begin to shift, Neon was growing increasingly worried herself, backing away slightly and tilting her head. It seemed that really was true, from Weiss's reaction. That it was another name rather than a pure noise of passion.

But maybe she should give her the benefit of the doubt. "Are… you okay?"

Tears began to sting Weiss’s eyes, and she had to get away. Though she had told herself she wouldn't run again, this time she had done worse than just being uncomfortable; she had slighted Neon in a really profound way, and it might not be something she could take back. Never before had she felt like such a  _ whore _ .

"I'm… gonna need a minute," Weiss whispered as she pushed up from the bed, facing away from her. She took two breaths, the second one beginning to sound suspiciously like a sob as she added, "Excuse me," and headed out and toward the bathroom.

And for a moment, Neon was left on her own in the bedroom with nothing but her own thoughts, and an all new worry. If that really was a name, who was it? Was this 'Yang' a threat to her and Weiss's blossoming relationship? Or was Weiss even dating this person without telling her?! No, that couldn't be it. She wouldn't have been this upset if it was cheating; more scared and trying to make excuses. 

It was getting more and more confusing by the minute. Until there was a faint buzzing she could hear, coming from the mound of clothes on the floor. Probably her agent trying to get contact with her at the worst of times again, like she usually did. But as she scrambled to try and find her phone, she didn't find hers. 

She instead found Weiss's. And curiosity was getting the better of her. Quickly looking back around to the door to check, she unlocked the phone; not even a password or anything. Maybe she could find out who this Yang was through here. She felt bad, but after that name slipped out she felt like she  _ had _ to see what she could see.

Though everyone knows what they say about curiosity… 

Weiss’s phone background was a simple picture of a beach at sunset, a palm tree arching overhead. Lovely, exotic, and common; the kind of thing you set as wallpaper when you first buy your phone. As it turned out, the incoming text was from someone named "Ruby" — that friend she had mentioned in the interview.

_ Hey Weiss, hows it going with Neon?? Im so excited for you, maybe you can introduce me to her on Skype!! : D _

Neon found herself smiling at such an adorably supportive message. It was good for her to see that Weiss had someone who seemed to know about who she was as a person, and about her sexuality. It made her feel rather special even to know that Weiss had told someone about them, even if it was one person.

She decided not to go through the rest of her text messages. Even if she wanted answers about her potential competition, she wasn't going to go that far to get them. That was Weiss's life, very private conversations. But maybe there was a photo. Scrolling to the photo album app, she was welcomed by a few photos of her and a smaller girl with glasses and dark hair. That seemed to fit the description of Ruby, at least.

"Cute," she muttered to herself, beginning to scroll upward to see what else was there. “I’d tap that if I wasn’t with Weiss.”

The next few were of Weiss and a cute blonde girl with distinctly Asian features; the one from the impromptu music video. They were just selfies, like any girl would take with her friend. She had a few of her and Weiss on her own phone. But as they progressed, they started changing gradually. Sitting closer, glancing at each other more. One of her sleeping, looking entirely peaceful.

Next she saw her wearing a gorgeous traditional dress, looking both elegant and bashful. Was this at a wedding? Had Weiss been a bridesmaid or something? That would make sense if Weiss had feelings for her and now they were no longer in each other's lives.

That was when she found pictures she would regret seeing. Blondie in the nude, being toyed with, teased… a pale hand that could only belong to her Weiss doing the teasing. And among those pictures was a video file.

Which turned out to be even more graphic than the pictures. Not only was there an ice blue length pounding into her — and into somewhere she had not been expecting — but there was another aspect to the woman in the video she discovered that was not readily apparent in all of the other pictures.

_ She was a DUDE.  _ Well, that was inaccurate, and she instantly felt bad that it had been her first thought, but there was definitely something between her legs that came as a complete shock to the snooping woman. All that time, Weiss had been dating a girl, who dated a girl… who didn't have what most girls have. Which would explain some of her reticence to try new things, even though she was comfortable with others. This helped slot in several more pieces of the puzzle that was Weiss Schnee.

"You have…  _ no  _ idea how sorry I am about what happened just now, Neon,” said diva began as she returned to the bedroom, wrapped in a bath towel and still looking completely ashamed of herself – and as Neon jumped, closing the gallery app and dropping the phone onto the bed. “Seriously."

Neon felt caught. It was deadly obvious what she had been doing, and she belatedly felt like a terrible person for snooping – even if she felt like she had a good reason to snoop at the time. Competition. But perhaps she could get away with not telling Weiss of the erotic video she had just witnessed on her phone, and merely blame the ridiculously red cheeks on her coming down period from their play. Or that she was just caught with Weiss's phone in her hand the once.

"U-um… Ruby messaged you," she answered honestly, but then patted the bed for her to sit down. "But um, I just… I have a few questions? If that's okay?"

A flicker of anger passed over Weiss's face when she realized what she had interrupted, but given her own slip-up during their sexual encounter, she didn't have any room to point fingers. Yet she didn’t sit. She remained standing, entire body language guarded. "Alright. I wish you had let me check for messages myself, but… yeah, go on. Questions like what?"

"Oh I didn't…" Sighing rather than arguing any further, she ran a hand through her hair. She could cover what she was doing halfway through the conversation, if the questions led to it. "Okay… this… Yang," she began cautiously. "Is she the chick on guitar?"

"Yes." There was no use in hiding anything anymore, despite how each word stole yet more light from her eyes. "She was my bodyguard, who became my best friend… and yes, we ended up writing that song together."

But Neon knew better. She didn't need to have seen the video to piece things together. Pictures of Yang in a beautiful dress, then of her sleeping, the meaningful glances… They all told her that Weiss definitely had feelings for her somewhere. And another gesture told her that those feelings were returned. Something that wasn't in the phone.

"Your necklace in that interview… the yellow guitar pick. That's something she gave you?"

Again, she shrugged her shoulders, but her voice was more strained when she went on. "Why not? Friendship bracelets exist. Why not… friendship necklaces? Is that so crazy?"

"Weiss…" She spoke more softly this time, enough to try and get her to look at her. But the expression wasn't that of someone who was going to joke and be childish about the situation like she would have expected. It was one of sympathy. She wanted to try and show that she was willing to listen.

"What do you want me to say? That all the rumors are true? That Yang and I had a- a torrid love affair, that we fucked like rabbits during the entire tour?! Is that what you  _ need?!"  _ Tears were already sliding down her cheeks, but her voice only got louder, harsher and less stable. "Well, what's the point in telling you that?! It's not a story that has a happy ending! And it has nothing to do with you and me! It's just… history now, that's all! Just…"

She crumpled to her knees in the middle of the floor, sobbing and unable to continue. No longer willing to sit around and do nothing, Neon got up from the bed and knelt down by her side. There were no more words she could say, nothing that would make the situation any better for the one she cared about in question. She wanted answers, but wanted to show Weiss she cared about her more than she needed those. So she only petted her back gently, giving her that time to cry that she so desperately needed. Judging from how abrupt it was, she hadn't been able to do this with anyone.

The first sign that Weiss was recovering came when the arms came up to grip Neon tighter; she at least could acknowledge there was another person there now, that she needed her there. Wet eyes pressed against her neck as she sobbed and shook, as her fingertips stabbed into her naked back. Clearly, she was somewhat broken… but Neon would only find out why a few minutes later.

"She left me," Weiss finally forced herself to growl out between racking, awful noises. "I d-don't know why, I don't know what I did, b-but she left, and she won't even answer my calls or anything! I c-can't- nobody would tell me anything, I don't understand! I th-thought she lo- I thought she  _ loved me!!!" _

The words hurt Neon. She'd heard break up stories all the time, but all had reasons for the split somewhere. At least reasons the other party could safely say. Cheating, not working out, even abuse, she'd heard it all. But for Weiss, there was no explanation whatsoever. One-day Yang was there, the Yang which she seemed to share an emotional bond with judging by some of the pictures; the next she was gone, out of her life. Without even a goodbye, from the sounds of things.

Stroking her back, and trying to keep herself from crying with her, she looked downward. What could she say? She had a few theories of why, but a lot related to that intimate video. It seemed she would have to admit to seeing that if she was going to ask.

"So um, this Yang… Yang isn't exactly a girl like you and me, right?"

"She… what?" Drawing back and swiping at her red-rimmed eyes with one hand, she asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Well… okay, guess I gotta fess up." She was blushing red raw again as she ran a hand over her face, starting to tremble with fear. "After I checked the message, I, uh… glanced at your pics to see if I could find who this Yang possibly was. And I found a… um…  _ very  _ nice video…"

That had the poor, distraught girl looking like she had been slapped. "You… what? You looked through m-" Instantly, she was jerking away from Neon's grasp. "Oh my God… oh my God, oh my  _ GOD, _ I can't believe you did that…"

"I'm sorry! God, I really am, I just… I didn't think. I was just trying to find out who Yang was, why you were calling her name when I fucked you. I got really jealous, I… guess I didn’t even notice it until… right now." The realisation flooded her with shame. But she knew she deserved it,  she deserved Weiss’s anger, for her to react as harsh as she did. All she could do was apologise.

"If I ever catch you on my phone again, I'll…" But she didn't even have enough fight in her to finish the likely-empty threat. Instead she just crumpled further, turning away. "Shit… I really messed up - you found out about Yang, th-that wasn't supposed to- I've been thinking I should set a password for my phone, but I never… I'm so lazy, and stupid…"

"Hey, I'm not gonna tell anyone. About you  _ or _ about Yang. Promise . But y’know, that got me thinking…" She didn't attempt to pet Weiss again. Not after that. She didn't deserve to touch her. But Weiss did at least deserve the theory. "You said your dad's pretty conservative, right? Could it… could he maybe have found out?"

"No… no, I don't think so. He would have said something to me… my sister knows, but she already threw it in my face, so that's out." The white-haired girl's voice was flat and emotionless as she stared off toward the corner of the room. Her hand pressed into her mouth for about ten seconds as she breathed hard through her nose, then she lowered it. "I… appreciate you not telling anybody about Yang. Even if she's… whatever happened, I promised myself I wouldn't put her in danger by outing her. And I intend to keep that promise. Not going back on it just because I’m hurt by her dumping me."

Nodding to herself, Neon was only just starting to smile slightly. After a moment or two, she even let out a soft laughter, looking toward her bedroom window as she stared out blankly. "God though, I'd have never have guessed. I mean, that video, she looked so great. Had me fooled; hell, had the  _ entire nation _ fooled."

"Had them fooled? How?" After a second, Weiss's forehead wrinkled up as she crossed her arms over her chest. "What are you trying to say, exactly?"

"Well, you know, that she's a tranny and all." Wrong move. Neon was clearly in the same boat Weiss was in when she first learnt who Yang was; meaning well, but saying all the wrong things. And this was getting worse. "Like I had no idea… Does this mean you're bi, then?"

But of course, Weiss also remembered how she had been back then, and only sighed wearily. "Listen. Yang isn't like that; she's not wearing a costume. She is a real live woman, just… got born differently than we did." Then she threw up both hands, adding, "And what's so great about vaginas, anyway? They bleed a few days every month and get yeast infections! I'd swap mine out for a dick if I could!"

"Hey, whoa whoa whoa, I never said anything about it being bad!" She held up her hands, waving them back and forth to show she meant no harm in what she said. "It's a great dick, seriously! And if she likes having it, then… yay! But I'm just saying, I'd have never have guessed she was born a boy. She looks great, for a trans… person?"

"She looks great for a  _ person _ ," Weiss continued to correct stubbornly. But mentioning Yang's looks only made her feel more depressed, and she ran a hand through her hair. "God… you sure walked into a minefield. I'm on the rebound, and the last girl I was with had a totally different body… and I don't know, I'm really into you but I can't seem to… to move on, and…" More tears fell, but this time she wasn't quite falling into the pit of sorrow the way she had before. Just grieving, yet again.

It was only now Neon was leaning toward her again, wrapping her arms around her and hugging her closely, gently petting her shoulders. She had far more answers this time, but at what cost? Her possible girlfriend was so hung up over another woman, still grieving over answers she never got. Was it something she could even cope with? That either of them could? She would have to tread very carefully here. A part of her could tell that deep down, Weiss still loved this girl. Still wanted her. But she wasn't here. And unless she was going to turn up out of the blue, Neon could feel reasonably secure in her new relationship. 

But it was still a possibility.

"Look…" she began, leaning back to wipe away one of the stray tears from Weiss’s cheeks. "I can tell she meant a shit tonne to you, that you're really broken up about this. And no matter what happens, you can talk to me about it, okay?"

"But you shouldn't have to! Sh-shouldn't have to pick up the pieces of me, I should… be ready to be with you right here, right now, all the way!" Weiss leaned up and kissed her cheek. "I'm sorry I'm still so hung up on her, b-but I really like you, okay? That's not changing!"

"You don’t have to do that," she insisted, wiping away another stray tear. One of her own fell down her cheeks, over the little heart shaped tattoo specifically. She couldn't help it, all of this was emotionally draining. But what kept her going was the knowledge that if this was hard for her, it would be so much worse for Weiss. Finally making sure she was looking into her eyes, she spoke softly and genuinely.

"We all have baggage, okay? It took me well over a year to get over my first girlfriend. And you're doing completely fine! But I want you to know…" She swallowed. This was getting to a more difficult part. If she was this hung up over Yang and the possibility of her returning was still there, she needed for Weiss to know. "If… you want to slow things down, or even pump the brakes until you feel less, um, weird… It's fine with me. We'll still be friends, no hard feelings, no worries. I'm not saying you gotta, but the option is there."

Weiss's reaction was not what she had been expecting – since she had been expecting to get dropped right away. Especially because of her snooping; she wouldn’t blame her in the slightest. Instead, those baby blue eyes got even wider, and she began to hyperventilate. She was shaking like a leaf as she drew away from her, curling into a ball on the floor. She was whispering something over and over, but it wasn't easily distinguishable until Neon leaned slightly closer.

"Don't leave me, don't leave me, don't leave me, don't leave me…"

It plucked at Neon's heartstrings to see Weiss like this, so terrified of being abandoned. She may have been one to speak about baggage, but this was something new altogether. The question was, would she be able to handle it? Weiss was so hung up on this other girl, so hung up on this Yang, that everything was in the air. She may never get over it if they never found out why, or she could leave her in an instant if Yang returned. It may never work out at all. But that didn't mean she wasn't going to do her damn best to help her however she could in the time they had.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she whispered into her hair as she cradled the shivering diva close. “Neon doesn’t bail on friends. Pinky promise.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year everybody!


	32. Chapter 32

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Mental health issues. **Suicide attempt.** Transphobia. Family arguments.  
>  ** _I AM SERIOUS. PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS CHAPTER IF ANY OF THAT COULD TRIGGER YOU._**

**=Chapter 32**

For Yang, everything had spiraled out of control. Far more than it ever had before. She tried to seek help, had tried to do as Blake asked and go to see a counsellor, but when she got to the door… she couldn't. She couldn't bring herself to go inside and admit she needed help. At the same time, she couldn't tell Blake she didn't go, either. She'd let her down enough.

The past week had been awful, getting drunk and sometimes high alongside every moment she could. Blake had more or less been at Sun's every night, expressing to him how stressful things were back at home while Yang was there. She knew why, and understood. But it made things no better. Not when Blake had been making significant strides to try and help Yang, which she seemingly threw aside when Yang more or less resigned herself to not caring about putting in the effort anymore.

For three days straight, she had been late for work, and growing ever sloppier with her duties. But the last straw had been when she was asked to serve and ended up in a fist fight with a customer over an unpaid tip. Even though she knew in her gut said victim had said something very personal about her that she didn't have to take, and it wasn’t _right_ for the jerk to get away with that, it had the same result. She was fired, ordered to leave the premises immediately.

The additional unintended punishment was her having to deal with her own thoughts at home. Which wasn't going well either, judging by the fact an entire six pack had gone from the fridge, its remains scattered around her room. Another hit of weed on top of that, and Yang might as well be dead to the world. At least, that was what she had hoped.

That horrendous thought was growing more and more appealing. What if she was? She wouldn't have to deal with these emotions anymore, nor would anyone else have to put up with the burden of looking after her. Blake would be free to roam her own apartment again, Ruby would be free to talk to Weiss as a friend, and Weiss would be free to move on. As she lay on the bed and blankly stared upward at the ceiling, she continued to wonder if there was a point, any positive aspect of continuing her life. And in her drunken and high mind, she was beginning to come to the heart-wrenching conclusion: there was none.

First thing was first, she picked up her phone, calling Ruby. Part of her hoped that she would pick up, while another one hoped she wouldn't, so she wouldn't have to face that choice. But she did not. And so left a heartfelt voicemail before hanging up. But then she noticed another contact in her scroll, one she thought she had no need for until now.

_Winter._

Of course, the one that started all this. The one that left her with no choice but to leave Weiss's company, in a manner that ensured Weiss would hate her forever, and with words that made her hate herself forever. All of this was her fault, the hatred, the self-loathing; none of it would exist if not for her. And she wanted her to know that.

"Hey! Guess who it is?!" Winter wasn't really there, it was her voicemail, as expected. Nobody could be bothered to pick up for useless old Yang. But as she held the phone and stumbled around the room, collecting various things she needed, she continued her slurred and angry rant. "I just wanted to call to tell you, you did it! I hit rock bottom! I'm everything you said I was so you could get rid of me! Yay for you!"

As she managed to hold the phone to her ear with her shoulder, she was quickly writing a note to Blake, a shorter one, with kinder words and more apologies. The opposite of the message she would leave for Winter. "You did this to me. Nobody else, just you. I tried to pull myself out of this pit, tried so so hard to at least live on as who I am. But you ruined that for me, too, didn't you? Made me question myself, how I look, made me hate my body again just when I was finally happy with myself. Every time I come close again, I hear you, calling me a circus freak, saying I'm disgusting. That Weiss deserves better. Well I agree, congrats!"

Now that was done, she was getting on to the part she was not looking forward to. Set up. She had the method planned out, but continued to rant that bit longer on the phone as she collected the thin blanket and rolled it up as tightly as she could, setting up a stepstool beneath the sturdy light fixture she had been eying for weeks.

"I don't know how long it's going to be before you hear about what's happened to me, what you made me do to myself, but I want you to know this so you don't ever do it to anyone else. You did this. You're the one that pushed me this far… you might as well have been here in person to put the noose round my neck or shove the pills down my throat. But whenever you're about to go to sleep at night, I want you to remember that. See you in hell, bitch."

And then she hung up the phone, tossing it alongside the note she had left for Blake.

Last task. Climbing onto the stool and tying one end of the sheet up against the light fitting, she stared at the noose end in her hand. Inches away from slipping it over her neck, inches away from the end. The end of her suffering… was she really ready for this? Done exploring every other option? Yes. As it stood in her hazed mind, there was no reason to go on, only reasons for leaving for good. No Weiss, and not even Blake now. No job. No prospects. Family that was pulling away more and more every day. And yet she continued to stare, continued to question, running her thumbs along the texture of it. The longer she stared, the heavier her breath was turning. The faster her heart was beating. Why was it that in that moment of staring at the makeshift rope, she felt more adrenaline then she ever had before in her life? What was stopping her?

The distant sound of laughter came from downstairs. It could just as easily have been from outside or from the television Yang had left on, but it wasn't.

"No, _you_ give me a break!" Blake was laughing as she managed to get the door open, despite the two bulging grocery bags in her hands. "Nobody cares about the White Sox - this is a Cubs town and a Cubs town only!"

"Yeah, well your team sucks ass." Sun continued to tease and taunt, even deliberately pushed one hand with the grocery bags out to try and hit her side with it. Both had just got back from their brief venture, but Sun had already agreed to stay tonight, for the first time in weeks. Of course, they had their reasons.

"So… are you really okay with staying here?" Blake asked in a softer voice as they made their way into the kitchen. "Even with Yang in the bed with us? I wouldn't ask you to, except… you know."

Sun rolled his eyes, already beginning to unpack the items from the various bags. "Don't be silly, of course I'm okay with it! Who knows, maybe a cuddle session might help her out more. Like you said, she’s had a couple days to kinda chill out by herself, go to therapy; maybe she won’t be such a stubborn bull about friendship or whatever. We gotta get her back to a place where she sees the rest of life is still waiting for her, even if she lost her girl."

"Exactly. And maybe what you’re _really_ hoping for out of a cuddle session is that she'll cuddle up to your butt - and we both know you'd like that." Giggling, she leaned in and pressed her lips against Sun's temple before whispering, "Wouldn't you, little boy?"

Although he tried to glare back, he couldn't keep his composure for too long, and ended up chuckling to himself. "Yeah yeah, whatever. So, shall I unpack all this while you run up and get her?"

Nodding, she kissed his cheek this time, then gave him a showy pat on the butt before going back to lock the door and step out of her sneakers. A quick sprint took her to the top of the stairs and around the corner, knocking briefly at her roommate's door.

"Hey, Yang? Listen…" This time, she didn't stop to wait; she eased open the door as she kept talking. "We were thinking about making tacos tonight, and then, if you'd be… up for…"

All of Blake's energy drained away when she saw what was waiting for her on the other side of that door. A nightmare. A literal waking nightmare. Her amber eyes took in the loop in Yang's hands, the surprised look on her face, the stepladder… the fixture where the makeshift lariat was hanging from. Back to her face, where they focused sharply.

Once she heard the door open, Yang flinched. She was no longer staring at the loop in her hands, and was looking right at Blake instead. Her own eyes were larger than they'd ever been before, nothing present in them but pure terror. She never once released the loop, only felt her hands quivering as she grasped it tighter. But there was still no move to pull it toward her. She couldn’t even do _this_ right.

What little energy she was left with was used to whisper, "P-Please leave…"

But Blake would not be obeying that one little plea. Instead, she trusted her instincts, which propelled her the few steps from the door, into the air, where her arms wrapped around Yang's middle and snatched her from atop the stepladder, tackling her to the floor.

"NO!"

That was the bloodcurdling scream that followed her action. Hitting the ground hard, she was frantically trying to push up from the ground to get back to her feet, but Blake wasn't having any of it, wasn't letting it go. It'd failed, her one attempt at freedom from the pain, the misery, and it had completely failed. All she could do was continue to scream out incoherently as she struggled against Blake's grip, tears streaming down her face.

After roughly one full, ugly minute of this, she sat up off the blonde and looked down at her for a long moment, listening to her blubber and scream. Then she reared back a hand and brought the palm sailing down to the side of her face.

_SLAP!_

By which time, Sun had ran upstairs to the sounds of Yang's screams, throwing the door open to find out what was happening. But he was in for a shock. The sight of a noose hanging from a ceiling, accompanied by a nearby step ladder wasn't the only haunting thing. The other was what her girlfriend was currently sat on top of, which was a blubbering and tearful mess. All she could do was loudly sob, the slap having forced her to at least stop screaming and struggling so hard. But it didn't stop the desperate plea, a horrifying one.

"L-Let me go! I-I don't w-want this anymore! J-Just let me die!"

The instant she heard the last word cross Yang's lips, her hand drew back again - but Sun was grasping her wrist, keeping her from delivering another strike. She struggled as she shouted, "You don't want this?! You don't want… friends who love you, a roof over your head? Warm food, cold beer? What is it about living here you hate so fucking much?!"

"MYSELF!" she screamed back at her, sobbing more and more straight after. She couldn't bring herself to look at either of them, only kept her eyes tightly shut as more and more tears streamed down her cheeks. Instead, her hands dove into her hair, grabbing handfuls and pulling hard. "I don't deserve to live! I don't deserve friends! I don't deserve ANYTHING!"

"BULLSHIT! Bull… _fucking… SHIT!"_ So hard was she straining against Sun that he had to go down on one knee to stay close, to keep her from hitting Yang again. "You're one of the most incredible people I know! Why should you hate yourself?! That's… that's fucking stupid!"

"Babe, breathe! Calm down!" Sun insisted, keeping a hold of her to prevent another slap. He knew in this state there would be no calming of Yang, not for a long long time. But having the both of them in such an awful state would just make things worse.

Especially since Yang seemed completely irrational, only continuing to loudly sob and cry, continuing to pull her hair. "Because I'm a freak! A fucking circus freak who everyone's helped out, and I just… _waste_ it! I deserve to die!"

But then she was leaning forward, trying to curl herself into a ball as she continued to sob loudly, managing to push out the phrase, "Please let me do it…"

"NEVER!" Even with her arm twisted back behind her, Blake still managed to lean down close to Yang's face and growl, "I don't care if I have to quit my job and sit here twenty-four hours a day for the rest of my fucking life, I am never, _ever_ letting that happen, okay?! So you can just… just forget about this stupid idea right now!"

But all Yang could do was sob, sob loudly and continue to cry out. She didn't have any more words to say, nothing that Blake wouldn't yell at her loudly for. She just wasn't in the right state of mind for any rational thinking. And while it was stressful to watch, Sun finally let go of Blake's arm once Yang had remained in her ball and sobbed for a minute, trusting she wouldn't try and slap her anymore as he went to do undo the noose, and to pick up Yang's phone to call the hospital.

The minute Sun was out of the room, Blake let out a choked sob and whispered, "I'm sorry… I got so mad at you, I… you're in pain, and I hit you… why did I do that?"

"I deserve it." It was a small and quiet voice that answered, but it was there. And that wasn't all. The rest of her words would be even more haunting. "I deserved it all. The slapping, the choking, even getting my dick hit… I deserved it. And I lied to you about it, telling you I enjoyed it when really I just wanted to… t-to be…"

A hand fisted against Yang's shirt as she remembered. The signs were all there; she was just too blinded by lust and affection to notice. Her stomach twisted horribly, and she felt like she might be sick.

"Yang… I love you exactly the way you are. I don't understand w-why you can't see that, I… I'm so stupid, I let all this happen, you were this close to-" Another sob cut off her words, and she clung hard to the girl beneath her, desperate to remind herself that she was still there.

It took a long while until Yang finally did the same. She released the handfuls of her own hair and instead clutched at Blake's shirt tightly, closing her eyes tight to try and suppress the tears away. Even if it wasn't exactly working, she refused to let go.

"I k-keep hearing her w-words…" She mumbled into her shoulder. "T-that I'm a circus freak. That I was t-taking advantage of Weiss b-because I was t-there… a-and I tried ignoring her, but I can't. I c-can't…"

"And who the fuck is she to decide who you are?!" Sniffling, she kissed all over the part of Yang's head she could reach. "You're… _my_ Yang, _my_ friend! Not hers!" Her hands dug into the back of Yang's shirt. "You're not going anywhere, okay? We'll… we can get you help, we can do something, this isn't over. You just… you let yourself get too far away from who you really are. But we can fight - and we will."

On one hand, she wasn't yelling back about dying anymore. That part seemed to have calmed down. On the other, she was still clutching, still sobbing horridly as she tried to avoid eye contact. But again, there were more whimpers of confession. "I did try to go to that counselling… but when I got there, I-I couldn't. I couldn't go in the building, I was too scared. And then, then today I got fired, so I drank, and I just… I don't know…"

Blake nodded and kissed her more - she couldn't seem to stop. Proving to her body that Yang wasn't leaving, that she hadn't let that happen. "That's okay. It's okay! I… I was hoping you could do it on your own, but you don't have to. We'll… go together next time. You and me. And I'll be out in the waiting room the whole time, and… and we can leave right away if that therapist sucks. And we'll try again." Another hiccupping sob, and her words became barely coherent. "I'll do anything, okay? Anything to keep you from… to keep you _here!_ God, I'll do anything you want!"

And then Blake's words devolved so badly they couldn't even be understood anymore, though it seemed to be more of the same.

"You've been doing everything already… I just kept being a… a bonehead, and didn’t listen," Yang assured her, burrowing her head into Blake's shoulder now it was exposed. And just in time for Sun to get back in, who was holding the phone to one side, as though he was still mid conversation.

"They want her to come in for a psychiatric evaluation. I'll drive, you two in the back?"

"Yeah," Blake said without hesitation, voice strained. Then she pulled back and pressed her hands into either side of Yang's face. "Listen… we're gonna go do this thing. I'm not leaving you, I'm not dumping you on their doorstep… we'll let them see what they see, and then we'll figure out where to go from there. Together, all three of us. Okay?"

Tears still falling from her cheeks, she only had the power left to nod, continuing to cling to whatever clothing she could of Blake's. Anything to keep her grounded in reality, instead of succumbing to the dark thoughts Winter had planted in the back of her mind. And then the final whisper: "Thank you…"

"There's nothing else I'd rather do right now." And it was the God's honest truth; there wasn't.

* * *

 

The ride to the hospital only took about twenty minutes. All the while, the two girls were huddled under a fleece blanket in the backseat, even though it was the middle of summer; Yang couldn't stop shivering in shock from what she had been through, how close she had come to the worst mistake of her life, and Blake wasn't about to let her curl under the blanket by herself. Soft rock from a local radio station music played out over Sun's speakers, which gave them something to laugh about to help keep their mind off darker things. Everyone was tired of "Eternal Flame" by now.

Soon after they got there, Yang was taken back into an evaluation room they had onsite. Blake and Sun weren't permitted to go back there, but after a few more assurances they weren't going anywhere, they let her go and found their way back to their seats in the waiting room.

"Ugh, I'm sorry today turned into this," she sighed at him as she slumped down in the hard-plastic chair. Sun had one arm around her and pulled her toward him, giving a light squeeze when he could. It had been a terrible ordeal for them both, even for him. But all the while, he tried to remain calm and collected.

"Don't be stupid. You didn't know, none of us did. It's just one of those… awful fucking things."

"Definitely that." She looked over with pleading eyes that he was all too used to. "Could you get me some coffee from one of those vending machines? Or maybe some soup? I don't really care which, they probably taste the same."

"Sure, babe. Black coffee?" He kissed her cheek before letting her go to sit himself upright again. However, before she could respond there was an interruption in the form of an upbeat ring tone.

But it wasn't Blake's. Reaching into the purse she had hastily grabbed, she came up with Yang's cell. The blonde had passed it off to her when she was being admitted, as they didn't want her to have it back there. The minute she saw "Lil Sis" as the contact name, she whispered, "Black" to her boyfriend before swiping down to answer.

"Hello?"

"Who’s this?" The voice sounded quiet, completely full of fear even in that first second. But whoever was on the other line was about to get an earful of yet another blubbery mess. "Please, i-is Yang there? I n-need to speak to her! She left me a voicemail about d-doing… s-something… Oh my god, is she okay or not?! Please say I’m not too late!"

"Ruby… I, um, I don't think we've seen each other since way back in school, have we? It's Blake…" How could she even begin to have this conversation? The poor girl had already received a message, by the sound of things. There would be no covering this up.

"Oh… Oh, god, Blake! I f-forgot… forgot she went to.." Ruby was trying to hold herself back from blubbering still, but it wasn't doing much good at all. The conversation seemed to have been completely forgotten as she sobbed rather loudly, only managing to squeeze very few words out. "I d-didn't make it in time, d-did I? Otherwise s-she would have p-picked up…"

"NO! You're fine, she's fine!" Clearing her throat, she ran a hand through her bangs as she tried to figure out what to say. "Well… she hasn't been 'fine' for a long time, I guess. But if the message was about her doing something stupid, don't worry, she, um, she’s still… she’s going to be okay."

"Oh thank god!" she seemed to shout. Even from a quarter of the way across the country Blake could feel her relief as she sobbed again, quickly sniffing between breaths. "I don't understand, she seemed fine! I m-mean… we were only skyping once a week, but I thought that was because she was busy. Even then, she was laughing, s-saying she was drinking with you guys!"

Blake's voice filled with tears; she had been fighting to keep them out, but listening to Ruby cry was enough to get her going again. "I'm sorry! I… I knew she wasn't happy, but I thought if w-we just kept hanging out with her, showing her we're her friends, it w-would be enough, that she would… snap out of it, or whatever! And she was supposed to be going to therapy…"

And then, as she was sitting there on the phone with her girlfriend's little sister, cold realisation crashed down over Blake Belladonna’s head: she wasn't enough. Even if Yang did care about her, enjoyed her company, she and Sun could not fill the void that Weiss left in her heart. Couldn't compensate for the demon seeds Winter had planted in her mind, that were growing into thorny roots all these weeks. It was equally comforting and crushing to realize that she had done everything she could… and come up short.

"B-But why? Why didn't she tell me?" Sobbing with her the other side the phone, Ruby could only sniff again. "I d-don't understand… She let me think she was okay, I actually have been telling Dad she's happy there! Then she j-just leaves a message saying goodbye… God, you have no idea h-how glad I am you're there with her!"

The reality of that crashed over her even harder. Never did she expect to literally save someone's _life_. "Ruby, I didn't… I had no idea what I was going to walk in on, b-but you're right, I'm glad I was there, too." Her voice got even tighter as she added, "If I didn't make it, if we got back a little later, I… I'd n-never be able to f-forgive myself…"

"D-Don't…" Sighing in an attempt to compose herself again, she seemed to be adjusting the phone in her grip a moment, as though she were sitting down. "You _did_ save her. It didn't happen, that's the important thing. We should focus on that. Where is she?"

"We're at the hospital. Just for a checkup!" she added in a hurry, before Ruby leapt to the wrong conclusion. "She's fine, she's not even hurt, just… I mean, Sun and I aren't professionals, so even though we're pretty sure she won't try it again, we, um… we wanna be extra sure. I'm not taking chances."

"Oh… Okay, I get it. Better to be safe than sorry. Oh no, I'd better tell Dad before she does, soften the blow." Ruby had calmed down significantly now that she had been reassured there was no immediate danger, with only the occasional sniff being a sign that she was upset. "Should I get him to send some money to cover the bill? O-Or he can even pick her up, if you think she needs it."

"No, Ruby, we got this. I'm paying for it. I…" Her voice tried to close off again, but she forced herself to keep going. "This is my fault for not figuring out how bad her pain was earlier. She… I tried to get her to go to therapy by herself. What was I thinking? Like I'd want to go by myself if it was me…"

"No, no you're trying. You and I know her, she's stubborn. She won't admit she needs help, ever. Not even with… this stuff. I bet if you asked about going with her, she'd have said ‘no’ and tried to go herself anyway. Kind of annoying sometimes! But y’know, I love my sister, anyway. I… I’m so, _so_ glad she’s not…"

But the conversation was interrupted as the phone began to vibrate again. Another call was coming in on the background. But the contact didn't have a particular pet name like the entirety of her phonebook, and it spoke volumes as to how she felt about said person. _Winter_.

Suddenly, Blake felt ice water running through her veins, the tightness in her heart relaxing. This was a situation she _did_ know how to take care of. "Ruby, I'll have to call you back; someone is on the other line that I need to scream at."

"Oh, okay then. Um… Get Yang to call me later! And thanks again!" Ruby shouted just before Blake cut off her call to activate the next one.

Which was a rather shaky voice on the other line. Shaky, but trying to act professional as she asked quietly, "Xiao Long? Xiao Long, is that you?"

"So," Blake began in a steely voice. "You're the one."

There was a pause. "Who is this? I'm looking for Yang, Yang Xiao Long."

"You did say that already." Churning over possible follow-ups in her mind, she finally decided to just attack. "Do you have any idea what you've done? Do you care?"

"Who _is_ this?!" the voice responded quickly. It wasn't the stern professional that Yang had described before. This sounded more like a frightened child. "Can't you tell I'm in a hurry?! I need to talk to Yang, now!"

"Well, you _can’_ _t!_ Because she is in the hospital, and it is entirely your fault, you… you homophobic, transphobic piece of SHIT!" People in the waiting room were looking up at her now, but they didn't matter; all that mattered was focusing every last shred of her anger on the one target that truly deserved it. "My friend was happy, she had actually found what she needed in life, and you were too worried about _appearances_ to let that be okay, to… to keep your fucking nose out of it!"

"In the hospi-" The quiet voice was beginning to trail off. Winter had to take a moment in silence as she took in the words, her breath seeming to quicken and become shaky. After a small moment, she spoke again quietly. "No… no she can't be. You're lying to me, trying to make me feel bad! Y-You're both pulling a sick, SICK joke!"

Still unbelievably furious, she held the phone away just long enough to send Winter a picture message of her own enraged face with the obvious markings of a typical hospital waiting room in the background, the nurse behind the desk in her blue scrubs. Anyone who had been to one more than once could never forget. There was silence on the other end of the line, more silence as Winter was clearly mentally processing. It seemed to be the rock-hard evidence she needed to finally believe her. And the only response was heavier breathing.

"S-She… But she's alright, isn't she? She wasn't… she wouldn't have… s-she-"

"Not dead, no. But I wouldn't call what she is 'alright', you…" This time, she fought to keep from hurling more petty insults. They weren't what she really wanted to say. "Sorry to disappoint you. I'm sure that's what you wanted, isn't it? To find out that the… the _obstacle_ to Weiss's future is out of the picture for good. Too damn bad."

"I-I…" She seemed to have the wind knocked out of her, barely able to continue a few words, let alone an entire sentence. Taking a deep breath in to compose herself as best she could, she calmly continued, "I didn't want _this._ I wanted her to stay away from Weiss, move out of the city and… and leave her alone. I never… I didn't want anyone hurt. This isn’t my fault."

"Well, you did hurt her. She's been hurting for a month. Every day. Every fucking day, I watched her wish she was dead, and today? Today I found her trying to make that wish come true." Her voice got deadly quiet. "As far as I'm concerned, you're no better than a murderer."

"No… no you… I-I didn't, I never…" Her words were becoming more and more fumbled, and it seemed like a hand was raised over her mouth when she continued. "J-Just tell me she's not hurt. Not physically hurt. Please, so I can… So I can inform Weiss…"

Her voice dropped to a venomous hiss. "Give me one good reason you deserve to know that information."

There was no vocal response. Only shaky breathing. Winter Schnee was completely speechless about the whole ordeal, she couldn't even figure out a phrase or word to say to try and convince the woman on the other line.

"That's what I thought. Enjoy your life, _murderer_. I hope you're proud of what you did."

Then Blake hit the "end call" button and stared down at the drab carpeting. Somehow, she had been hoping that taking out all of her frustrations on the elder Schnee would make her feel better, but all she had left now was sadness.

By which time, Sun had returned with two cups, one in each hand. But seeing his girlfriend keeled over and staring out blankly made him hesitate a moment before he sat down by her side, holding the cup toward her. When he left, he had only managed to catch the contact name of the first person who rang, so assumed the sadness was due to that.

"Guessing you had to bear the bad news, huh?"

For a moment, she didn't say anything. Then she just whispered, "I can't believe we're here, doing this. I can't believe I had to have those conversations, it's… how did I let this get so bad, and didn't figure out how bad it was?"

"Blake…" Sun said quietly, putting both cups down on a nearby table so he could hold an arm around her instead, leaning in close. "You can't blame yourself for this. How could any of us have known? Depression's not something that makes itself brutally obvious."

"I mean… I know that. Deep down, I do, but right now I'm worried about my friend. That's all." Shakily drawing in breath, Blake leaned into his touch, laying her head on his shoulder. "You think she'll be okay? I know we didn't let her die, but… I don't know what to do about her mental state… should we try to call Weiss? Get them talking again? I don’t know…"

"I think the problem runs deeper than just Weiss." He idly stroked her arm as they leant against one another, and occasionally pressed a kiss against her head to try and keep her calm. Even he was dramatically affected by this, having only just managed to hold his own tears back through the whole ordeal. "The things she was saying when she was frantic… they weren't aimed toward her, they were aimed at herself. I think the whole thing with Weiss made it way worse, but I wouldn't say it's the root cause."

"She's beautiful, Sun. She's the most beautiful woman in the world, and… and that bitch convinced her that because she was born with a dick, that sh-she's not valid! I hate it, I hate that I can't help her any more than this!"

"But you have been doing all you can!" He stopped her continuing that trail of thought, pulling her in tighter. It still hurt to hear his own girlfriend talk about someone else in such a way, but they'd already agreed to the terms. That he allowed it because he trusted Yang. Perhaps that was a mistake on his part, but right now that wasn't important. What was instead was his girlfriend's feelings. "You've helped her where other people wouldn't, booked her in therapy, everything. You've gone above and beyond, dude. Don’t beat yourself up."

"Yeah… yeah, I know." Snuggling against his side, she finally admitted it to herself. "I know you're right, in my mind. That I was really trying, and that I didn't know what else to do, so… but it doesn't keep me from feeling guilty that she still came this close. It should never have been this close, Sun!"

"But you stopped it. You saved her life, Blake. And even if none of us thought she'd have to be in that room, we're here. We just have to keep going, keep moving forward. Keep _her_ moving forward."

Nodding hard against his neck, she then sat up and pushed at the moisture on her cheeks. "Yes… that's very true. We have to think about her future, not this one little setback." Then she kissed his cheek. "Thanks for being my rock. I was trying to be hers, and it didn't work, which only proves to me how much better at that you are."

"Hell no. Do you really think I could have handled this if it was the other way around? No way. You're the better rock here, and don't you forget it," he insisted, finally breaking away their hug to pass the drink over to her instead, now that it'd had a moment to cool down.

"Thanks." She took a sip, then made a face. "Oh ugh, you _did_ get soup! I was totally kidding!"

"Um… that's the _coffee…_ " Sun had started to laugh, but it wasn't long until ahead there was a familiar sight making its way down the hallway. The messy blonde hair of Yang, accompanied by a doctor whom was still writing on the clipboard as she led her back to the waiting room.

"What's the verdict?" Blake asked, trying for an awkwardly hopeful smile.

"Yang is going to be just fine," the doctor told them with a pleasant smile as she gestured to their friend, and the piece of paper in her hands. "She doesn't present an ongoing danger to herself or others, and all that marijuana and alcohol mixed poorly in her system. They're not very compatible ‘highs’, regardless of one being more legal than the other. She mentioned you were both aware of what was going on in her personal life before she moved here, so I think you can understand how too many mind-altering substances would make it worse if she already doesn’t know what to do."

"So keep her clean, I'm sure we can deal with that.” Another thing for Blake to kick herself over; getting Yang self-medicating. “Anything else?"

"I got Prozac," Yang responded rather blankly to the other blonde, looking down at the prescription the doctor had given her while in the room. "And counselling, but that I wanted to go for, anyway… and I mean _actually_ go this time."

"Still going with you," Blake told her flatly.

"Good," the doctor said as she continued writing on her clipboard. "A network of friends is always helpful in situations like these." Then she let her professional demeanor drop, laying a hand on Yang's shoulder. "You will get through this. Plenty of us hit this wall at some point in our lives; I came close in grad school. But if you talk to someone… it can make all the difference."

Although she was looking down at the ground, she was listening to every word; nervously folding her arms over her chest as she nodded. She knew everyone was there to help, to try and make her feel better; but that didn't stop her feeling so guilty for their need to be there in the first place.

"So is she free to go?" When the doctor nodded, Blake slid an arm around her friend's back. "Thanks. Um, where do we… check out, or whatever?"

"All taken care of. Just have that prescription filled at any pharmacy and that's all you have to pay for. I got this one. You guys just worry about Ms Xiao Long." And before they could protest or further inquire, the doctor left them to it with a little wave before heading back the way she came.

"Thanks a bunch, doc! We'll get her back to norm," Sun called up toward the doctor as they headed for the exit, watching as the two girls walked together.

 _Closely_ together. And yet again, he noticed how in this case, it was Blake doing the main work. Blake was the one giving affection, pulling her in close and occasionally leaning her head against her, while Yang blankly kept going. If they were going to help Yang out of this pit, and even help her get out to see the world, Blake herself would need help, as well. Help to inevitably let go of Yang when the time was right.

But for now, as they headed back toward the car again, Sun opened the back door for them both. "So… how about we hit a McDonalds instead of tacos? I think after that, none of us wanna cook."

"Oh, shit," Blake breathed, covering her mouth with her hand. "I hope you got most of that stuff in the fridge… but yeah, I agree. Greasy, nasty fries would really hit the spot a lot better. Plus, you know how much I love their strawberry shakes."

"And a Big Mac for me — I wonder what cheesy things they have right now…" Sun pondered as he got into the driver's seat, already strapping himself in as he waited for the other two to get ready. Turning back, he asked, "How about you, blondie?"

But Yang continued to stare down blankly, even as she strapped herself in, and as Blake wrapped the blanket back around them. Yet again, she could feel tears beginning to well up in her eyes, whispering, "I think I just wanna go to bed…"

Blake watched her for a few seconds, considering. Pursing her lips, she seemed to come to a decision. "Chocolate shake and twenty-piece McNuggets for Yang. Just… trust me on this." Then she snuggled up next to her as they drove off.

* * *

 

Since that chilling phone call, Winter had completed no work whatsoever. She sat in deep thought, in complete silence. Over and over, that word continued to go through her head: _'murderer'._ And Yang's voicemail also ran through her mind again and again. How Yang described the hatred she felt for herself because of her words, how completely _not_ herself she sounded. She sounded destroyed, and Winter did that to her? That wasn't possible. It wasn't as if she was actually attacking Yang, all she said was what she saw. That Yang wasn't natural. Surely everyone knew that!

Either way, what was done was done. She had no way of finding out Yang's health, or even what had happened in the first place. What business was it of hers?

But as she finally dragged herself up to fetch a coffee, that thought continued to haunt her. Yang could be in critical condition, or worse. And the guilt was only made worse when she passed the door to her sister's apartment, and heard another heart wrenching sound. "WHY?!" echoed out into the hall; it would only be audible from right next to it the way she was, but it was so strained and urgent that it bordered on being feral. A growl of lament.

She couldn't just walk away from that. She had no choice with Yang; she wasn't about to drop the ball with Weiss, as well. Not with her baby sister. So tightening her eyes shut, she braced herself for whatever consequence was about to come, and quietly opened the door…

The sight was utterly pitiful. Weiss was curled up on the couch, her phone lying on the cushion next to her, playing the video clip of them performing the song in Penny’s house on repeat. Her head was pressed down against that orange "infinity scarf" she had seen the brutish bodyguard wearing on more than one occasion. It was so late in the day, and yet she was still dressed in fuzzy pajamas. And, of course, she was crying her eyes out, huge streams of wetness making their way down her face and into the snood.

For a moment, she stared. And it made her heart sink all the more, for even worse reasons. She'd assumed her sister was well over the bodyguard by now, over the petty fling that posed a threat to her career. But it seemed not. Forcing back the fears about Yang in her head, she pushed open the door a little more.

"Weiss?"

"Go away!" she sobbed weakly, curling in tighter, quivering from nose to toes as she pulled the phone closer. "You… don't understand and you don't care, I… I don't want to see you right now!"

But Winter wasn't leaving. She entered the room, shutting the door behind her. The worst thing that could happen was for their father to walk in on this moment. Frankly, Winter didn't want to be there at all, but she felt far too guilty to leave this untouched.

"That's not true, and you know it." She tried to remain stern, pulling up a chair next to the sofa so she could sit next to Weiss without moving her. "I'm still your sister, you know. I do care."

"Not about this." Sniffling she turned her head to smoosh her face down into the scarf. "You have m-made your feelings about Yang abundantly clear."

Biting her lip in an attempt to suppress the fresh wave of guilt, she watched as Weiss continued to burrow her head into whatever she could, feeling worse and worse by the second. To the point when she couldn't stand it any longer.

"Stop it!" she insisted. "Do you really think you were ‘in love’? You’ve never even dated anyone before! This was just… just Yang taking advantage of you at a vulnerable time!"

But all that came out of Weiss for the next minute or so were strangled screams, hiccups and sobs. When she finally calmed down enough to speak again, the conversation went in a direction Winter was not expecting.

"I tried to move on… the way you seemed to think I would. It didn't work. She still… I can't, Winter, I can't!"

"You can, and you have to!" Shuffling her chair a little closer, she breathed in deeply. Struggling for any way of avoiding this, she went on, "And you will tomorrow. We're going to find you some new bodyguards. Father and I won’t go over your head again – it’s your choice."

"Not as a bodyguard, you ignoramus! As…" She was past the point of caring, past everything. "As my _girlfriend!_ I was in love with her, and I'm still in love with her now! You might hate me for telling you, but you know what?! It doesn't even matter anymore! She left me, she is… gone, gone, _gone!_ Not only that — my new girlfriend apparently isn't enough to erase her memory, which makes _me_ a really crappy person! So think whatever you want, because it d-doesn’t make any difference at this point!"

The more Winter was hearing from her, the worse she felt. It was the wake-up call she truly needed to tell her that this was _real_. Weiss really was in love with another woman, and wasn't just having a fling because she was there – not just a phase, some flirtation with ‘sin’ as she and her father thought of it. The experimentation of youth. No, it seemed that no matter what happened, she would continue to date women rather than men, and nothing could change that. Not even the risk it was to her career, or her family life. If she truly was willing to put all that on the line for someone else…

And then she began to stare blankly at the ground when the crushing reality of what she had done hit her like a bus. Weiss's loved one could be dead, or as good as. She heard haunting stories of the after effects of people's attempts depending on the method. What if it was pills, and her insides could already be destroyed? What if she jumped off a building and could never walk again? She had to bear that crushing guilt that not only had her actions pushed someone down that dark path, but that she had destroyed the most special person in Weiss's life.

"…She didn't leave you."

There was no real emotion left in Weiss's voice as she growled, "Oh, what are you babbling about now?!"

"She didn't leave you," she repeated louder this time, gesturing the words with her hands. It was a small habit she only tended to do when she was trying to get people to believe her point and listen carefully. But in addition, she sighed, bringing her hand up to her face and running it down. Swallowing her fear, her self-preservation instincts, she added… "I _forced_ her to leave."

Only now did she have Weiss's undivided attention. She pushed up onto one elbow, and the horrible state she was in became crystal clear; red-rimmed, bloodshot eyes, salty residue from earlier tears that had run in different directions from the current ones.

"You… what… are you talking about? What did you do?"

Now she was keeled over, head in her hands, staring at the ground as she tried to stop the lump in her throat from keeping her quiet. She wanted to be sick, or to run… but there was no way of escaping this.

"I knew she wasn't going to leave unless I gave her a good enough reason. So I confronted her with her old Facebook account. The one with pictures of hi- _…her,_ from before." She corrected herself before slipping with the pronouns, even if she still didn’t quite buy that Yang was a woman. That would no doubt just make everything worse. "And she still didn't leave, even when I threatened to tell Father about this. Nor when I threatened to hand it over to a media source. I had to firmly remind her that the stories would be about you dating a tranny and that it would ruin your reputation before she considered it, and even then she was arguing with me for what seemed like hours."

"So when I didn't… when…" Everything began slotting into place behind the clear blue eyes of her little sister. Certain emotions shut off, some shifted slightly, and some blazed into being. It was another minute or so before she stopped looking so completely stunned and was able to respond.

"Wow. You… really do hate me, don't you?"

"No, I don't," Winter swore to her. Even though she was only just able to bring herself out of the pathetic ball she had made out of herself, she looked toward her seriously. "It's _because_ I love you I did this. I thought you were just having a fling, something to rebel against Father with, or that she was manipulating you because you were living in the same bus. A-and… and I wanted it to end before it cost you your career."

Her fists clenched as she looked back at the floor again, voice becoming shaky. "But I was wrong. I was so, so wrong…"

"Oh! Oh, okay, I- I'm sorry! I get it now! My mistake! You were just…"

Then something much worse than crying happened. Weiss began to laugh. It wasn't the kind of laugh you ever wanted to hear; high, unhinged. Dangerously close to the edge of insanity. As she giggled and cackled, she sat up and rocked slightly back and forth, eyes popping wildly and mouth agape.

And Winter just sat, sat and listened, as horrendous as that punishment was. And this was without telling her the most gut-wrenching part. But she knew she deserved it, and that Weiss deserved to hear the truth after so long of blaming herself – one piece at a time. It didn't make any of this easier though.

"YOU! You're so nice to me! That's why all these years, you've been making me feel like a nuisance that y-you just have to take care of or else Father will make you, or punish you… why you don't think I can wipe my ass without supervision! Because you _love_ me! Oh, I get it, I see!"

“Weiss, that isn’t true,” she urged her with wide eyes. “You have _no idea_ how much I’ve sacrificed! For you! I really- I couldn’t love you more if I tried! And I know it won’t seem that way right now...”

Still giggling, the girl clutched her sides as more tears joined the old ones, sucking air noisily and horribly. "You love me _so much,_ you had to save me from the big scary ‘tranny’ who wanted to… to what, exactly? Oh yeah, that thing she did!"

Then suddenly it was like a switch flipped, and Weiss was on her feet, screaming down at Winter, _"She loved me! She_ loved _me, and I had someone, and you didn't! And you couldn't let that happen - you had to ruin the rest of my life because you… you're just so, SO loving! I can't believe you're sitting here, telling me this like I'm supposed to buy any part of it!"_

And all she could do was begin to cringe even more at each and every word. But she deserved it all. Weiss's anger was rightfully placed. She couldn't even bear to make eye contact with her anymore, see what she looked like this angry. And that's when the tears had begun. Even though this hurdle was over, the worst part of the confession was about to begin, and when things got quiet, she spoke again.

"You need to sit down, because there's more…"

"OH! Oh, I see – there's more. I interrupted you ruining my life, you're not done." Weiss practically threw herself down onto the couch, sending one of the throw pillows to the floor. "Go ahead. I mean, what, did you set fire to my tour bus? Or hey, maybe you already called Neon and told her that she has to leave the country because… I don't know, she has tattoos and piercings, or something _else_ you don't find acceptable!"

It didn't even register to her that Weiss had just told her her new girlfriend's name. All that her mind could think about was the events on the phone from earlier, the yelling she received from one of Yang's friends. How was she meant to explain this? She had to keep going. Taking a deep breath in and waiting for Weiss to be quiet, she finally managed to get the words out.

"The last contact I had with her was a very worrying voicemail. I called back and could only reach a friend of hers. Telling me that she tried… that she had been hospitalized."

"Hospitalized? Oh, how would _you_ know whether she's hospit-"

The ringing of her phone filled the air, cutting off the umpteenth rendition of "Changes Come For You" in mid-note. It was one she had set for someone specific, one of her own songs from the very early days; extra bubbly. Abandoning her conversation with Winter immediately, she snatched it up and swiped to answer.

"Hello? Ruby? Is everything alright?!"

"Weiss!" Already she seemed to be frantic on the other side, voice coming quick and fast as she spoke. "God, I’ve been trying to reach you, but my signal kept cutting out! S-something happened."

Her eyes widened so much further than they had been as her breath caught. "What? Ruby… what happened?"

"She's okay, now she is at least anyway. But, um, something’s going on. I’m not there, I can’t tell you for sure." Ruby took a deep breath. Weiss glanced over at Winter, staring blankly toward her with tears falling down her face, before she heard, "Weiss… okay, she made me promise not to tell you, because Winter might do something, follow through on her crazy threats; but I've been talking to her off and on. She went back to Chicago, to Blake's. And I thought she was doing okay, but today she got really drunk and depressed, and Blake found her trying to… t-trying… to…"

"Trying to what?! Ruby, spit it out!" She knew she was being mean, but she was tired of being kept in the dark by well-meaning people. Winter had frayed that nerve far too much for one day.

There was a clear gulp from the other line. Then the following, hollowly-delivered comment: "She was trying to kill herself."

Never before in her life had Weiss regretted asking someone to be honest with her. Not before that moment.

"No." It was all she could think of to say. Completely unworthy of the situation, but no other words would come. Her head swayed back and forth slightly as she tried her best to remain upright.

"S-she's alright now; she's been checked over and evaluated, got some meds, a-and is gonna start counselling…”

“ _No._ I… what?”

“B-but I needed to tell you. This isn’t the same as just keeping a secret that she’s in another state, a-and you’re my friend, and… I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry."

"That's… good." Again, not up to par. "Thank you. I'm… yes. She's okay. She’s _okay._ " A wave of relief was flooding through the icy veins of Weiss Schnee. Just for a second, she had known – believed deep in her heart that she literally lost Yang forever. Even worse than she had when Yang left. Now, she had learned differently; there was still time. Maybe Yang didn't want to see her anymore, but at least she was alive, and had someone to help her get back to where she had been.

"I-I don't wanna sound rude, or pushy; but can you fly out here? So we can really talk? I don't wanna explain all this on the phone, and… a-and we’re flying up to see Yang ourselves soon."

That part Winter could only just hear for herself from her chair, and looked up from where she was covered in tears. She desperately hoped Weiss wouldn't, and would remain so she could be told anything she wanted. So they could finish this conversation. But that choice was hers.

"Yeah… yeah, you probably need me as much as Yang does, even if Yang wouldn’t-" Weiss’s throat closed off around the words "let me see her". She couldn't do it, couldn't poke her already-wounded feelings openly that way. "I'll… I'll be there soon, it's not a long flight. Can you pick me up, or sh-should I get a cab?"

"Penny can come get you, she’s renting a car. From your place?"

But then Winter was looking directly at her, pleading for her to remain as more tears fell from her face. She regretted everything that had happened. _Everything._

"Oh gosh, I wouldn't dream of making her drive across the country! I… yeah, just from the airport. Um… I'll be there soon. Very soon. I'm… I gotta go pack."

Then she hung up. Only afterward did she realize that was rude to do without letting Ruby answer, but it was too late now. Standing, she immediately walked past Winter and down the hallway toward her bedroom.

"Weiss, wait! Please!" Winter insisted, following as quickly as she could and trailing behind her. By now the tears were free flowing, making things worse and worse. "This isn’t- you have to know that none of this is what I wanted!"

"I'm going to be gone for a few days," Weiss told her in a dead tone as she slung random items of clothing into her suitcase. Glancing down, she realized her other hand was still balled around the snood, so she put that in, as well. "Tell Father it was urgent business. I'll call him when I land to make sure he knows I'm fine, and that I haven't forgotten the Beach Fest; I'll be back well ahead of that."

"Can we just stay and talk, please?!" Her voice was getting increasingly frantic as she followed her pacing around the room, watched as she finished packing and zipped it up. "I didn't even finish telling you why she's there! Please!"

Pulling on one of Yang's old hoodies she had somehow missed underneath her bed, and Weiss retrieved a week or so later when the maid tried to throw it out, she fluffed her hair out of the neckline of it as she went to grab some comfortable shoes for the flight.

"Ruby will tell me. She seems to know about as much as you d-"

"I was wrong!" Winter suddenly shouted. She needed something to try and snap her out of what she was doing, snap her attention back to her again. So far nothing was working. But maybe if she kept going… "I… was wrong. She loved you, she loved you so, so much. And I was too focused on protecting you to see it… I just wish I could take it all back, we'd find a way to tell Father… _please_ don't leave now."

"Really?" Weiss asked as she tugged on her shoes, tone razor-sharp now, even without shouting, without even raising her voice at all. "And who do you think you are, asking me to stay after what you did?"

"I'm your sister!" But when there was no response whatsoever from those words, Winter's brow was beginning to furrow, and her lip began to quiver. "…Weiss?"

As she pulled the suitcase through the doorway Winter was standing in, Weiss stopped just long enough to say a single sentence, voice crystal clear.

_"I don't have a sister."_

Then she kept walking, scooping up her phone from the couch and heading straight through the door to her apartment and out of sight. Without looking back at the devastation she had wrought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo boy. This was as hard to reread and edit as it was for us to write the first time... and very tempting to take it out or make it less awful. But I decided to leave it as is. I think it's more impactful for people who haven't had to deal with mental health issues of their friends and family, to maybe help them understand what can happen when someone is going through something like what happens in this fic.
> 
> The US Suicide Prevention Hotline can be reached at 1-800-273-8255 or online at [Suicidepreventionlifeline.org](https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/). For a list of international numbers, please [click here](http://ibpf.org/resource/list-international-suicide-hotlines). Please reach out if you ever have thoughts like those.


	33. Chapter 33

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: Depressing talk.

**=Chapter 33**

The flight wasn’t terribly long, and Penny and Ruby were both ready to pick her up straight from the airport. Ruby had even taken the liberty of making a sign up so it was easier for Weiss to spot her at the lobby, as ridiculous as it seemed for her to do. Of course, there was the inevitable few people that recognized her and wanted a signature, but thankfully no paparazzi.

A quick drive back to the dorms later, Penny had just started to pull into the parking lot, having only made simple small talk until they got back home. Both Ruby and Weiss seemed to think that best. But now that they were here, Penny tried to start for them.

"We really are sorry, Weiss. She made Ruby promise not to tell you anything other than her being safe. I know it doesn't help, but please don't think badly of us."

“It’ s alright, ”  Weiss said in a weary voice, finding it within her to spare the girl a smile. All of her crying and thinking had been done during her hours on the airplane, leaving her more drained than anything else.  “ I, um …  I understand the situation a little better now …  thanks to my  _ former _ sister. Not yours or Ruby ’ s fault. ”

"I still feel awful…" Ruby admitted, only just unbuckling her belt and opening the car door. They may have been talking, but all the while, Ruby was quiet, and continually looked towards the ground. She clearly felt guilty about the whole ordeal. "I feel bad for breaking Yang's promise, too! But… you needed to know. I can't keep something that big to myself."

Once out of the car, Penny went to get the luggage from the trunk while Weiss drew Ruby into her second hug since landing and gripped her tightly. In a quiet whisper, she said, "I'm sorry… I'm sorry you have to deal with my crazy family, I d-didn't want this to happen to Yang…"

"No… nononono, Weiss. This isn't your fault at all, d-don't…" But as she noticed tears forming in Weiss's eyes once again, she just hugged her back, nuzzling against her neck. Weiss needed someone to be close to her just as much as Ruby did. Sure, she had Penny, but the more the better. "Don't cry… Please, you had no idea any of this was happening. None of us did. Yang never told me how much was going on in her brain until today. I don’t even think Blake knew."

"Yeah, I know that… I know. God, I'm so sorry for what Winter did; she has no excuses. None. Interfering with our lives that way…" With one more good squeeze, she stepped back and shook herself. "Anyway, we can mope and be gross in your dorm. No sense standing around out here in the parking lot like this."

"Good point. And, uh… I'm sorry in advance if any of the girls ask you for an autograph. Some of them have been kinda, uh…  _ pushy  _ toward me once learning I knew you…"

Following her redheaded girlfriend, the two began to make their way inside. Thankfully, it seemed like the other students were out, only the odd one or two sat in the common room with a coffee, which made it easy enough to slip by and head to their room on the middle floor. As soon as they got there, it became clear Ruby had already tidied up, clearing the spare bed they normally used as both table and sofa back to a spare bed for Weiss again, and all the fast food boxes had been put in the trash can – or at least near it. Typical student living, but it was Weiss's temporary home.

Normally, Weiss might have commented on the dubious tidiness or offered to help, but she was too emotionally drained; all she could do was flop down on Ruby's bed. She hadn't even picked it intentionally, only headed straight to the nearest one.

"Ugh… I can't believe this is my life right now…"

"U-Um…" Ruby mumbled, looking back and forth between Weiss on her bed, and toward Penny. Of course they knew she hadn't realized, so neither said anything. All Penny did was bite her lip nervously while her blushing girlfriend slowly approached, and sat down by her side. And then remembered what Yang would do; joke.

"Come on, our room's not  _ that  _ bad is it?"

Another long groan. "Your room is fine. The rest of my life isn't." Then she rolled onto her side and looked up at Ruby. "So um, about Yang. I… I don't know if I really want to know this, but… how did she… try to…?"

The jokey attitude had completely disappeared, and she breathed out sadly. These were the awful questions she knew she'd have to answer, not that it made it any easier. "I didn't ask, but Yang mentioned Blake tackling her off a stool, so I assume…" She didn't say the word, only brought her hand up toward her own neck, gesturing as though she was going to grab it.

"Oh…" Weiss squeezed her eyes shut, forcing tears out and down onto Ruby's pillow. "I… I'm so stupid, why didn't I realize? Here I am, walking around in a stupid daze like I’m the only one who… and there's Yang, she's in pain because of something my sister did, and I never put it together…" Sniffling, she breathed, "I'm not worthy of her. So stupid."

"You can't blame yourself, Weiss." Thankfully, Penny was a lot calmer than Ruby was, having acted as her rock for the whole day since she got the terrible news. At least she could speak up a little more than she could right now. "What your sister did… It's not fair, not one bit. But you are not her. That's not your fault. You'd have never let any of this happen if you knew."

"She's right," Ruby managed to force out, sniffing herself as she held back the tears that were forming. She'd done more than enough crying today. "Penny's completely right. How could you have known she'd try this? I'd never suspect any of my own family; even if I had another sister like Winter, I'd have never thought someone that close to me could be so mean."

Nodding weakly, Weiss let out a long, would-be cleansing breath. But what she said was, "I didn't… didn't love Yang enough. Or obviously enough, maybe. If I had just shown her a little more clearly how I felt, maybe Winter wouldn't have been able to scare her into running away…"

For a full minute, they all sat in silence. Then Ruby whispered, "Penny, can you make me and Weiss some hot cocoa? And, maybe pester Pyrrha into giving me my DVDs back?" Her girlfriend nodded, giving them both a quick smile when she grabbed the two empty mugs sat by the open laptop on the desk, quickly vacating the room and shutting the door behind her.

Once she was gone, Ruby pulled out her phone again, quickly unlocking it, clear in Weiss's view. The pop star only stared at what Ruby was doing for a few seconds. Then she finally whispered, "Do you want me to give you some privacy?" Clearly, she assumed Ruby was going to make a call.

"Nope." The girl dialed her voicemail, switching the phone to speaker so the both of them could hear the monotonous voice of the menu. "But I can give  _ you  _ the privacy if you need it. Just… hit One to play."

"What?" Her brow furrowed as she looked at the phone, then up at Ruby again. She didn't bother to ask her to leave; only reached up, hesitated, then pressed her index finger against the screen.

_ "First message. Received earlier today." _

_ "Hey, Rubes… It's me." _ Once the message began to play, it was obvious who the voice was. It was her Yang's. Undeniably Yang's.

"Oh…" Weiss's voice grew tear-soaked within mere seconds of hearing the one on the phone, and she sat up, clutching the other girl's phone as if it were suddenly made of gold.

"I'll go help Penny." Ruby barely whispered, quickly getting up and exiting the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. Leaving behind the voice of her sister on the phone, one which Weiss couldn't even respond to. But she needed to hear it. Even if the very first bit appeared to be Yang herself sobbing, and speaking in a clearly drunken slur.

_ "I screwed up, Ruby. I screwed up big time. I thought I could do all this myself, that I could be happy and that she could be happy and it would all work out after a while like Winter said… But it's not. I can't sleep, I c-can't eat… I'm a mess. A complete mess." _

Tears had already begun flowing from Weiss's eyes again by this point. Never before had she heard Yang in so much pain, so much unlike herself. She'd never even heard her drunk on more than one occasion. What had this unfortunate situation transformed her ex-girlfriend into?

_ "I can't even smile anymore, or laugh. I can't even make a pun, a fucking pun. How d-dumb is that?" _ The voice seemed to chuckle very slightly. Even if it didn't last long at all. The sorrowful monologue continued.  _ "You're probably thinking I shouldn't have listened, right? T-that I shoulda just come home, punched Winter in the face and said a great big 'Fuck You' to her stupid face… I keep wondering that, too. Like, what would have happened if I didn't listen to her, if I'd just have let her put those photos out…" _

Weiss leaned closer, hanging on every word. This had been something she thought a lot about during her flight; why  _ did  _ she give in? Let Winter control their lives this way? It seemed so unlike the bodyguard she had come to know and cherish …

_ "I couldn't risk it. I couldn't risk the media making stories. Not of me, I don't give a shit about me. But about Weiss… doesn’t take some fancy degree to know what stories like that can do to a star, how cruel the media can be. I remember we learned about Amy Winehouse in my media class, how they trashed her like they  _ wanted _ her to die. Then where does she end up? Exactly."  _ There was another deep breath and a sniff. Yang was well and truly broken on the other side, apart from the odd hiccup, which re-affirmed she was drunk as well. But perhaps, for the sake of telling the truth, she needed to be.  _ "I CAN'T let that happen to her, Ruby. I can't even risk it… I…" _

Yet another deep breath, and then the sentence Weiss had been waiting so long to hear. She just wished it was under better circumstances.

_ "I love her, Ruby. I love her, a-and now I'll never get to tell her. I should have told her when I had the chance, told her how much she meant to me, that I can't live without her… but I was too fucking SCARED to say it. And now it's too late. _ _ ” _

"No, it's not!" Weiss found herself whispering to the phone uselessly, tears running down her cheeks and onto its touchscreen. But she also couldn't help but feel like maybe she had been the worst kind of girlfriend for the special type of girl Yang was: one in the public eye. Given her gender status, there was nothing more dangerous to her than that.  _ She  _ had been the one taking too many chances,  _ she  _ had ignored the dangers. Not Yang.

_"It's way too late… I've been away for so long, I've turned into such a mess, putting Weiss through all my shit, and now Blake… everybody has every reason to hate me now. I really am a circus freak, everything Winter said was right…"_ But a few more sniffs later, she managed to power herself to keep going. _"You have to be strong, okay? Stronger than I was. And I don't want you to be upset, or beat yourself up, because I don't… I don't deserve to keep being here anymore; you do. You need to be the amazing daughter that Dad deserves, okay? Study hard, achieve your dreams, all that shit. Even look after Zwei… Tell Dad I love him. And… and tell Weiss, I'm so, so sorry."_

_ "End of message. To delete, press seven. To save…" _

Why did this hurt her so much more than Yang leaving in the first place? Finding out that she did still love her, loved her so much to sacrifice their happiness together for a perceived need to protect her… it was too much for her heart, and she let the phone fall to the floor as she convulsed, curling into a ball on the bed and pressing her hands to her face.

Ruined. Her entire life had been  _ ruined  _ by the actions of her sister, and by her own inability to reassure Yang in the correct ways that she wasn't a danger, she wasn't a mere obstacle to her future. How could she have been so stupid, so careless?

Such a mood was interrupted when the phone vibrated once more. A text message had come through. One from Yang herself to Ruby.

_ Srry I scared u. Jst got back to Blake's. I'm safe n I mean that honestly this time x _ _ oxo _

And even though there was another wave of relief, one so similar to the one she had felt when Ruby first told her she was okay, it couldn't quite erase Weiss's own growing guilt that the entire situation came about in the first place. That she had let Yang go… that she hadn't figured out she was at Blake's, hadn't gone after her physically. Been too confused and hurt to try anything besides calling her over and over.

Maybe she really  _ didn't _ deserve her. As much as she had been tempted to think Yang failed her so many times, this only showed her it was clearly the other way around. She was such a pitiful excuse for a girlfriend that she had let Yang slip through her fingers, let her fade away and nearly die. And that was the worst thing she had ever done, however inadvertently.

But then another vibration, yet another message.  _ Actually, R u free? Not for skype, jst voice call? _

This was an opportunity that might not repeat itself. Her one chance to actually  _ tell _ Yang she was sorry; after all, there was no guarantee if she went to Chicago that Yang would want to see her. She only hesitated for a second out of guilt for deceiving Yang before she texted back:  _ Yea I am _

Not even a minute later, the phone began to ring. Typical of Ruby, it was one of Weiss's songs playing for a short moment. But the instant it was answered by Weiss, there was a moment of silence. Before the clear voice of Yang spoke again. "Hey, li’l flower. Sorry about all this, I just… I don’t know."

"Don't hang up," Weiss breathed desperately. "Please, can you just… just listen for a minute?" There was no answer from Yang. Of course not; she had ruined her life so much that she had nothing to say to her. Therefore, she pressed on. 

"Yang, I'm sorry. I had no idea Winter did any of that, that she went behind my back and… but that's not an excuse. I should have known something happened, should have figured it out instead of just… just whining into your voicemail a billion times. God, I feel so stupid…" She took a breath, pushing up from the bed to pace back and forth. All the while throughout, there was no voice from the other side. It was only the odd shaky breath outwards that was the indicator that Yang was on the other line. "But you're probably better off without me. I mean, if I wasn't smart enough to figure this out, and we've only been dating for a few months… what happens a year from now? Five, ten? What if you need even more and I’m even less ready? You need somebody who's smarter than that, who won't… drag you into the tabloids, even if it's just on accident. Somebody who isn't me, clearly."

A few seconds after Weiss had stopped, she sniffled and whispered, "Y-You heard…"

"Yang?" But she cut herself off from hoping Yang would say more. This wasn't right. "Sorry for, um, picking up Ruby's phone, but she's honestly out of the room right now. That was… I'm sorry for so many things." Her voice grew tight. "But I don't agree with what Winter said; I want to make that completely clear, okay?! She can go sit on a rusty garden rake for all I care! I think you're… you're a beautiful, perfect, incredible woman! And I always will!"

There was a sudden intake of breath from the other side, as though Yang were beginning to cry as well. The majority of the call between them was silence, just listening to the other with only the odd one or two words. Especially from Yang, anyway.

"I'm s-sorry…" She was barely holding herself together. "S-sorry if I-I… scared you…"

"You did," Weiss admitted. "Twice now, I… I don't know what I would do if you… had really…" Now she was crying again, though she had been doing so well up until that point. "You can't do that! I don't care if you hate me for making you promise not to try again – go ahead! Hate me, but hate me because you made the promise! Please?!"

And the crying had gotten worse. Now she was sobbing rather loudly the other end, shakily breathing in and out all through the call. It wasn't what Weiss wanted or intended of course, but she couldn't hold it in anymore. Everything was just too much after hearing her voice again since so long had passed.

"I'm sorry… I'm so sorry that I failed you, twice now, I… but you have to promise. Right now, promise me!"

"I should be apologizing," Yang stopped her, attempting yet again to try and keep herself from sobbing ridiculously loudly, taking a deep breath in, and then releasing. "So I can't promise exactly that… I w-wish I could. But I promise, I'll work to make myself how I was again. And I’ll really try this time, I’ll bust my ass. Swear to God, I’m… I’m not giving up."

Another broken sob came from Weiss's throat. "No… no, you can't try it again –  _ ever! _ Please?!" No response, other than sobs. "Damn it… I can't even do this, I can't do anything, I'm such a…" But she couldn't even finish that sentence. She wasn't sure what she was.

"I want you to be happy." That was all Yang could say. Even as she heard Weiss sobbing and shakily breathing, barely keeping it together, she continued, "But you won't be with me. Obviously. I’m just a mess right now, and you deserve better; I was supposed to protect you, and that's impossible for someone like me to do… when I can’t even save myself from myself."

"I… I don't agree, but… but I don't really have any right to say anything." Pressing her hand into her face, she tried to think of what else she could say. There were three words she wanted to, but she didn't have any right to those anymore, either. "How did everything go this badly, this suddenly? Like… what happened to us? Everything was perfect, and now…"

Instead of answering directly, she changed the subject. Perhaps she had given up trying to explain anymore after all. Or perhaps… Perhaps she wanted to keep Weiss in her life, talk to her as a friend. Even if they both didn't want to be distanced. "How come you're at Ruby's? Like, why would you be all the way out there?"

"Well… Ruby wanted to explain to me in person. What happened, and… I mean, it's no big deal." Her fingertips ran through her fringe as she stared at a spot on the floor, leaning up against one of their desks. "You… ended up at Blake's, huh?"

Sniffing, Yang was at least able to hold herself together now. Better than she was anyway. "Been here for about two months. I thought… thought it would keep Winter off my back."

"She didn't say she was still trying to mess up your life further, so I guess it worked. I'm… I won't make excuses for her. She crossed the line in a big way, with both of us."

"I think I left her a voice mail…" That sounded very uncertain. "I can't remember… I was pretty… drunk, high, distraught. I've been… Well, I  _ am _ , a mess."

"High?" Then Weiss forced herself to back down from that particular topic; she didn't exactly approve, but it wasn't currently any of her business. "Well… What's important now is that you get better, right? Just… you're still my b-best…"

Yang had a feeling she knew where that was going. And she stopped it before it did. It was one thing to know, but another to hear it fall from her mouth. She wasn't ready for that yet.

"I will, eventually. G-Good luck next week at Beach Fest… I'll watch it on TV, okay?"

"Thanks!" she half-laughed, half-sobbed. "I'll dedicate a song to you, if… if that's okay with you."

"Why wouldn't it be?" She tried to laugh herself, by now sounding as though she had perked up a little bit more, even though there was occasional sob and sniff in between. There was so much she wanted to say, so much more she wanted to confess. But it seemed she wasn't brave enough to do that anymore. "I should let you get going."

Again, the weak laughter. "And where the hell am I going?" But once the laughs faded, she whispered, "It was… really good to hear your voice, Yang. Take care of yourself for me."

"Yeah… Yeah, you too. I lo-" But instantly she cut herself off, and made out that she was clearing her throat instead. "L-Later."

"Later."

And the instant they hung up, Weiss began weeping. Partly out of pain, and a regret for what they lost… but partly from relief. Now she had something else: hope. That had been  _ the word _ Yang was about to slip into the conversation. It wasn't certain, and she didn't assume it meant they would ever get back together… but at the very least, Yang was relatively alright and still cared about her. That was better than she was doing before the call.

After a few more minutes, finally Ruby and Penny reappeared into the room again. Ruby headed in first, peeking her head around the door to check on her. Seeing she was just staring at the floor, Ruby held a steaming mug out toward Weiss.

"We added some cream and marshmallows, Pyrrha let us have some when we got the DVDs. Lemme know if it's too hot."

Taking a long sip, the pop star smiled gratefully up at her friend and friend's roommate. "It's perfect. You guys…" She sighed, the smile slipping down a notch. "God, should I feel bad? I'd rather be here with you guys right now than with Neon, and that seems wrong somehow… it’s like… I don’t know. I really don’t know  _ what’s _ going on with me anymore. "

"Oh, shit! I completely forgot!" Ruby instantly closed her eyes tightly, sitting by Penny's side with her own drink as she took a sip of her own drink. "How is she? Is she still, um… performing with you in a couple of weeks?"

"Yeah, yeah she is. Oh! That's right, I have…"

Jumping up from the bed, Weiss did get best not to spill any of her cocoa as she went to her suitcase and unzipped it quickly. "I was going to mail you a little surprise, but… well as long as I'm here, I can give it to you in person."

"Huh?" Ruby looked toward what she was doing, but seeing the glimmer of shine on two strips of paper gave away instantly what it was. And Ruby's eyes went to the size of dinner plates. She had to struggle not to suddenly drop her own drink or end up screaming. "Tickets?! You got us both tickets to Beach Fest?!"

"Of course I did," Weiss sighed with a smile — one markedly less morose than her others of the day. "Backstage passes! I want you and whoever you pick…" There, she paused to glance pointedly at the placidly waiting face of Penny. "To really enjoy yourselves, alright? It… will be nice to have a friendly face in the crowd, and not just people who see stars when they look in my direction."

Penny laughed. "Well, Ruby still does at times, as much as she hates to admit it."

"Shut uuuuup." Ruby insisted, pulling the hood of her hoodie back over her head to try and hide her slight embarrassment over Penny's words. 

Not that it did much good. After taking a sip of her cocoa and smirking at her girlfriend however, she looked over to Weiss again and asked, "Would you like us to stand in a certain place so you can see us while you perform? I think that'd be nice for you."

"Oh, I'm sure I'll see you wherever…" Then she shrugged one shoulder once she had thought it over. "Off to stage right is usually where the people who can come backstage end up. If you're not there, I'll look for you in the front row where your seats are. Really, as long as you enjoy the show, that's all I wanted."

"They're front row, holy  _ shiiiiit!!! _ " Ruby had grabbed one of them to get a better look at, holding it quite close to her face so she could read the smaller print at the bottom. It included all the details of the event, and their backstage coverage, and terms and conditions.

Which was something Penny was interested in particularly. For one moment she was lost wandering her own trail of thought – tapping her chin thoughtfully. The next, she asked, "For the backstage part… Do we need anything that lists names? Like, say if I fall ill and can't go, could Ruby take someone else and they can get backstage fine?"

"No, just those tickets. Ruby will have to give her name to get you backstage, of course; they're in her name. Security measure, you understand." But her pleased smile was entirely unconcerned about such minor details; she had succeeded in inviting her friends to the show. Things were finally beginning to look up.

"And I'm probably dragging you there even if you are ill, anyway," Ruby insisted, finally taking a sip of her own cocoa now that she wasn't as distracted as she was, but all the time she was grinning in glee. She barely even noticed her own girlfriend was sat perplexed in thought, staring out blankly. But she would learn why, in just a few short hours.

* * *

 

It didn't take too long before Weiss called it a night, only managing to get through a few episodes of Doctor Who on Netflix before she retired back to Ruby's bed, snuggling into the sheets, headphones in to block out the noise of rowdy and randy students as Ruby recommended, completely asleep.

And her temporary roommates would have been as well, if they weren't occupied with different things. As usual, Ruby was scrolling through Tumblr for posts to add to her blog, occasionally showing Penny a funny meme or two; while her redheaded girlfriend however was still staring blankly at her phone. Still thinking.

Until at last… "Hey, Ruby?"

"Yeah?" Ruby asked, still not having looked up from her laptop screen.

A quick glance to make sure that Weiss was certainly asleep later, she shuffled up to Ruby that bit extra, leaning a head on her shoulder. And then covering her mouth, she attempted to cough, even though it was the most fake sounding one ever.

"Oh, oh dear, I seem to be feeling ill. Looks like you'll have to take someone else to the Beach Fest with you."

"Cut that out," Ruby snorted, navigating a page on her browser with the greatest of ease. "You know there's nobody I wanna go with besides you. Well, maybe Dad, but he wouldn't have any fun; all the musicians are under the age of thirty."

"Oh, really? Poop… it's a shame you don't have someone who would absolutely love to go. Like, I don't know, a sister, or something." Penny continued, and then slowly tilted her head to watch for Ruby's reaction, no matter how slow it came.

"But you don't have a sister! Or… wait." Finally looking away from her screen, she rolled over to look at Penny, a delighted expression in her silvery eyes. "Are you plotting what I think you're plotting? Because if you are, then… then I think I might want in on it!"

"Sshhhh!!!" Penny pressed a finger to her lips, quickly looking toward Weiss again to make sure she didn't stir. Not even a peep, excellent. Diverting her attention back to Ruby again, she was grinning giddily. "Think about it; you're in the front row, and Weiss is gonna be looking for you. If you and Yang are standing together, she'll see you both! And then they can head backstage, talk things out in person, and then they'll be back together!"

"Yessss," Ruby whispered in a hushed voice. "Oh my god, it's so PERFECT! This is why we're bee-eff-eff, you know!" Sitting up cross-legged again, she rubbed her face. "Though the real trick is getting Yang to come down there… I mean, she's halfway across the country from here, and in a funky mood…"

"Which is why I thought we should probably start working on convincing her. Do you have the friend she's staying with's number?"

Nodding, Ruby offered her phone, unlocking it and handing it over for Penny to peruse the contacts. "Her name's Blake."

"Blake… Blake… Blake!" Finding the number in there with ease, she went into the messaging application, she quickly typed the following message.

_ We think we have a way to deal with Yang's funky mood, or even fix her relationship with Weiss! Do you think you can get Yang to come to the Cali Beach Fest for Friday? Penny'll pay for any travel costs with her allowance, of course <3 _

And of course, Ruby had been watching over her shoulder as she typed up the message, her smile slowly growing the entire time. She had never really done anything this sneaky before… and the fact that it was for such a worthy cause made her even more wickedly gleeful.

“Heh heh hehhhh… this is gonna be AWESOME!”


End file.
